PEOPLE’S National Congress Reform (PNCR) top Region 10 executive and Assistant Director of Community Development, Sandra Michelle Adams, passed away Tuesday morning after a massive heart attack.

The younger sister of Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Patterson-Yearwood, Adams, had only recently been discharged from the hospital after suffering a heart-related ailment.

In confirming her death, Regional Chairman of the Region 10 Regional Democratic Council, Renis Morian, told the Department of Public Information that Adams’s passing has left “a lot of things shaken in Region 10. He noted that she was a strong advocate for the CDCs she had helped to establish in the region. Morian said she will be remembered for her “commitment to what she did.”

He added that she has served within the local government system in one capacity or another for some 20 years. Morian noted that apart from her position with the CDC, Adams headed the RDC’s Local Government Committee. Adams also worked closely with women and children’s groups in the region. She was a “hard worker” who did her work with “zest and exuberance,” Morian said.

In a statement, President David Granger said he is deeply saddened at the passing of Ms Adams M.S. Ms. Adams was a dedicated public servant, community organiser and political activist, President Granger said. She was also the Principal Political Secretary and member of the Central Executive Committee of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and also the Regional Chairman of the party’s Upper Demerara- Upper Berbice region. Adams served her country in the National Assembly as a Regional Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2006. “She devoted her life to service and was a stalwart of her party the PNCR and her community,” Granger said.

Born and raised in the mining town of Linden, Ms. Adams attended Mackenzie High School. Apart from her community work and political activism in the Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice region, she also worked as a former administrator of Duncan International Shipping and a supervisor of Voices of Praise International Radio, Brooklyn, New York.

In May 2017, she was the recipient of a National Award — the Medal of Service — for her long and outstanding service in social and community affairs in the Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice region and as a parliamentarian. His Excellency extends heart-felt sympathy to her children Deron Montrose and Delroy Anthony, grandchildren, Dericia and Dariana Anthony, siblings, Valerie Patterson-Yearwood, Frank Mackenzie, Marilyn Sinclair, Robert, Berthyle, Royston and Marcia Adams and the relatives and friends of Sandra Michelle Adams.

Outgoing Mayor of Linden, Carwyn Holland, in a facebook post described Adams as “an ambassador for Linden, for women, children, a hard worker and fearless advocate.” “I stand with the people of Linden and our nation in mourning the passing of a stalwart for Guyana’s progress, Ms. Sandra Adams.

An ambassador for Linden, for women and children, a hard worker and fearless advocate — our community and nation have suffered a great loss in her passing. To her family, friends and loved ones I express deepest condolences. May God’s comfort and peace surround you in this time of grief,” Holland said.