(Trinidad Express) – Patricia Robinson, wife of former president and prime minister Arthur NR Robinson, has died.

Robinson, who had been ailing with Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes for several years, passed away peacefully in her sleep early Thursday morning at the family’s residence in Ellerslie Park, Maraval. She was 79 years old.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning and wife Hazel Manning visited the Robinson’s home on Thursday to offer their sympathies to the bereaved family.

During the course of the day, a number of other close friends and relatives visited the family’s residence in the seemingly quiet gated community to offer their condolences and words of comfort.

Napier Pillai, who has been a close friend of ANR Robinson for over 40 years, said the former president and prime minister has been “coping” with the sad news. He told the Express that he spent some time with Robinson, now 82, and he seemed to be “holding up well”.