‘A servant of the people’ Mary Clare Hurst remembered for her tireless love for people and country

The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party and the broader society said its final farewells to late General Secretary of the ABLP and Chairwoman of the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority Senator Cheryl Mary-Clare Hurst.

At an official funeral service held at the St John’s Pentecostal Church House of Restoration, parliamentarians, port authority staff, family members and the wider community paid respect to late Senator whose influence spread across the government service and touched all.
Gregory Georges, Chief Executive Officer of the West Indies Oil Company, reflected on the professionalism that Senator Hurst held with him, emphasizing her reliability and national purpose.

He recalled reaching out to Senator Hurst on several occasions to resolve significant impasses between WIOC and the port, describing her as someone who always took his call and displayed a keen interest in finding resolutions.

“Whenever I reached out to her, she took my call, every single time, and she displayed a keen interest in resolving whatever the issue was,” Georges said. “She was reliable.”

Georges said he was confident that despite her fiduciary responsibility to the port, Senator Hurst kept the national interest of Antigua and Barbuda at the centre of her decision-making.

He described her as calm, collected, and insightful, with an instinct for knowing when to intervene and when to step back.

He also recalled her persistent advocacy for young people, noting that she would regularly call him requesting opportunities for youth in the society.

“She was relentless in her passion for helping young people, and diligent and persistent in following up and advocating for them,” Georges said.

Archdeacon Franklin Reed, a friend of the Antiguan and Barbudan diaspora in New York City, submitted a written tribute read at the service by the late senator’s brother Ambassador Sir Lionel Hurst.

Archdeacon Reed described Senator Hurst as a government leader who exemplified integrity, compassion, and selflessness, and whose voice resonated in the halls of power advocating for justice, equality, and opportunity.

“She loved Antigua and Barbuda. She loved Antiguans and Barbudans. And she loved the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party,” Archdeacon Reed wrote.

The eulogy, delivered by Dr Oswald Thomas, recalled a bond with Senator Hurst that began when they were teenagers in the labour party youth movement and grew into a relationship he described as brother and sister, not by blood, but by choice.

Dr Thomas recounted their years studying in New York, where they both worked at the Antigua and Barbuda Mission to the United Nations and launched a newsletter, distributed to more than 5,000 Antiguans and Barbudans.

He described it as an effort, long before the age of social media, to keep the diaspora connected to developments back home.
“She never measured success by the offices she could occupy,” Dr Thomas said. “She measured success by the impact she could make.”

Dr Thomas closed by reflecting on her legacy, saying her greatest contribution was not any title or institution, but the people she encouraged, mentored, and lifted.

“Today, throughout Antigua and Barbuda and beyond, there are countless doors that remain open because Mary Clare Hurst walked through them first,” he said.