HELENA Maude McAllister, Guyana’s oldest female centenarian, is today celebrating her 104th birth anniversary.

And incredibly, two years ago, she successfully chronicled and published the Helena Maude McAllister Auto Biography — “A Century with Jesus”, which was released on her 102nd birthday.

Asked by the Guyana Chronicle how she feels to be 104, McAllister modestly replied, “I want to thank God for His love and His mercies upon me, and for bringing me this far,” she said. She demonstrated a zeal for taking and sharing the Word of God with others, so that they might know.

McAllister, fondly referred to as “Aunt Maude”, is the wife of the late Hilton McAllister, founder of the former Mac’s Secretarial School, located at Lot 208 Duncan Street, Newtown, Georgetown.
She has a proud record of being the matriarch of a family-owned business that has actively contributed to the academic moulding of the nation of Guyana for more than 50 years. Over this period, it has churned out hundreds of students who were all well rounded academically.

Both Hilton and his wife, Maude, worked at separate medical institutions prior to entering into the teaching profession. Hilton started out by teaching stenography and Home Economics and soon established a formal secretarial school; a kindergarten and a day high school.
That venture bloomed and blossomed and soon a high school was set up, housed at the Frolic Hall at Robb and Light Streets, Bourda, coaching students to the level of junior and senior Cambridge Examinations.

Aunt Maude recalled that her husband, who ran the school for about 25 years, was headmaster for several years, with the late Hugh Desmond Hoyte being Assistant Principal.
Hoyte was at the same time studying to become a lawyer. He later went on to become President of Guyana. Mr. McAllister brought on board the teaching staff his two sons, Godfrey and Hilton (Jr), then his daughter, Ruth, who was deputy principal. However, over time, challenges, including poor payment of fees and the attitude of some teachers led to the eventual closure of the institution in 2001.

Known for his visionary qualities, Hilton ironically and regrettably lost his vision to glaucoma, and transitioned in 2008. To his credit, he succeeded in making considerable impact in the education sector in a private capacity.

Following her husband’s demise, Mrs. Maude McAllister diversified and ventured, quite successfully so, into the apartment rental business, overseeing the rental of a three-storey apartment building in Newtown.

That facility is the expanded and refurbished venue, jotting out majestically from that which once housed the popular Mac’s Secretarial School.
The business is doing well under the management of our centenarian with a competent secretary alongside her.

BLESSED
But Aunt Maude, blessed with the ability to make sound financial management decisions in the best interest of the business, would prefer to personally run the business, allowing her adult offspring the right to make suggestions.

Meanwhile, Aunt Maude is ably overseen by her daughter, Ruth and her husband, Clifton who occupy one of the apartments on the premises so as to be “always there for her”, providing absolute care and affection.

In summing up, Aunt Maude recalled their venture into the delivery of higher education was a huge success, and grew from strength to strength through the years. Many benefitted from the school’s well-delivered and innovative academic programmes. One such person is Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, who was at the school and later joined the teaching staff. And so too was Ann Greene who is now Director of Children’s Services, Child Protection Agency.

Ruth recalled that one of the school’s greatest breakthroughs was when it took the lead in introducing computer technology on the curriculum locally. She also recalled, with some degree of sadness, the devastating blow they were dealt when the Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL) unstable power supply destroyed four computers at one blow through high voltage.

One of her saddest moments in life, Aunt Maude recalls, was the death of her husband, Hilton in 2008, an experience she has not quite gotten over as yet. On the other hand, a moment of great joy indelibly etched on her mind was the recovery and continued success of her eldest son, Godfrey, who as a young child, became very ill and was literally given up by doctors.

“Our son had become so ill he could no longer keep down his food, and he literally looked like skeleton with just skin and bones,” Maude writes in her Biography (pg.33) “Godfrey and the Tomatoes”. “They all said they could do nothing for him and he was given up to die,” she recalled.

Then in a bold act of faith, her husband grabbed their child off the bed, raced out of the hospital, praying in earnest and trusting God absolutely. Their prayers were answered and young Godfrey recovered.

“Thereafter, he went to a private school … where he took his Common Entrance Exam and got a scholarship to go to Queen’s College.” God has continued to bless him and today, Dr. Godfrey McAllister has returned home to celebrate his mother’s 104th birth anniversary.
The Guyanese-born Distinguished Toastmaster, is a three-time District Impromptu Speaking Champion and 2017 World Champion of Public Speaking finalist.

Dr. McAllister was ranked among the top-10 best speakers in the world at the Toastmasters International World Convention in Vancouver, Canada in August last year. More than 30,000 speakers from 140 countries entered the grueling eight-month long competition.