‘Gertrude’ passes away just shy of 105th birthday

One month shy of her 105th birthday, centenarian Cecilia ‘Gertrude’ Goddard Hughes passed away after a bout of illness.

Hughes, of 2950 North Ruimveldt, was said to have passed quietly in the early morning hours on Thursday.

Cecilia ‘Gertrude’ Hughes

Born in 1906, at Versailles, West Bank Demerara, she was one of four children of her parents, who were among the first sugarcane harvesters from Barbados.

Stabroek News visited the woman last March when she turned 104. At the time, she was thankful for life after surviving a bout of illness prior to her birthday.

Hughes mothered 11 children and is survived by three. A devout Seventh Day Adventist, Hughes loved to sing. Funeral arrangements are still to be made.