Lilly May Prince went home to rest on August 19 2016, almost a month after her most recent great- grandson (Zhylo Prince) was born on July 21 2016 and 22 years after husband Thomas Prince died in March 1994.
She was born in the remote village of Patty Hill , Cascade in the Parish on Hanover , Jamaica on May 15 1929.
She was the second child of Edwin Wood and Ruth Harvey Wood. She had 10 siblings
Flavious (pawood) , her older brother who died in 1977, Endora ( sister Galli) Faine , Kathleen(cookie) ( who died in 2005) , Daniel ( sonny boy) , Rose ( who died in 1973   ) , Nelly-Ann , Esmilda ( milda) , Vernan , Florence ( kitty) and Jasper.
She was born at the start of the Great Depression which made times hard worldwide and in the small village of Patty Hill her early years must have been very tough. This was compounded by the fact that her father Edwin was sickly and unable to work frequently.
She went to Brownsville Elementary, but was unable to attend school regularly because she began working at a very early age to help her parents , in the nearby Harvey River District.
Around 1947 , she migrated to Kingston to live with her cousin Ms Lyon in Rollington Town in East Kingston. By 1948 she got a job at the Jamaica Biscuit Company which at the time was at church street in central Kingston, now currently located on Spanish Town Road . She worked with the Jamaica Biscuit Company for 40 years until she retired in 1988.
She met her husband Thomas Prince while working at the Jamaica Biscuit Company and they were married in 1953 and the union produced 4 children, Noeleen (daun) Laing, Claudette Bibi Prince, Patrick Prince and Glaister (Lance) Prince.
She and her husband Thomas lived at 16 Rae Street in Rae Town until they moved to 66 Colbeck  Ave in Pembroke Hall in 1964 where she lived until 2002 , when she migrated to Orlando to be closer to her grandchildren.
It be an injustice to talk about " Mummy " as she was known by all nephews and nieces who was touched by her humility and her tolerance or " Sister Lilly " as she was affectionately called by her sisters and brothers , without acknowledging that she was a mother for not just her four children, but for her siblings and their children who had the good fortune of living with her for even a short time.

When her sister Endora (sister galli) migrated to Kingston , she fondly remembers living with her for a short time as someone who never raised her voice , no matter who frustrated her at home or at the Jamaica biscuit company ( they both worked their together for a number of years ) . She did however that she had some “ hot words” to say at times which stung for weeks which her children ( Daun , Bibbi, Patrick and Lance) describe as “ sniper words’ . This is just testemant that even though she never raised her voice or never swore she was no pushover , because she had her own unique way to get her point of view across.

When her sister nelly-ann lived with her a couple of years before migrating to England in  1960 describe her as being someone who always wanted peace and for everybody to get along. No what the situation or crisis she always thought both sides had done no wrong and there must be a way to find peace. She loved chanting Bob Marley song “ don’t worry bout a ting , cause every little thing is going to be all right”

Her sister Kathleen ( cookie) and her sister Rose lived with her in rae town for a short while on their way to England in the late 1950s. Her sister Rose who was the sibling who was like mummy in her behavour died in England in the early 1970s and never returned to Jamaica. I remember mummy being very sad after getting a telegram that simple said “ your sister Rose passed away on ….. date”

Her baby sister remembers coming to live with her sister lilly at the age of 8 in 1955 , travelling on the market truck. At the time daun was 3 years old and bibbi was 1 year and they grew up together as sisters that even to this day friends of our family still calls kitty daun and bibbi older sister and kitty has always called her sister lilly mummy.

Thomas and Lilly moved to Pembroke Hall in 1964 in their proud 2 bedroom 1 bathrom house with their 5 children Florence( kitty), Noeleen (daun), Claudette( bibbi), Patrick and Glaister(lance). By 1966 the family was joined by a younger brother Richard Lodge who was Florence ( kitty) son , who called lilly prince “mummy’ and his mother Florence kitty. When Richard started Meadowbrook high school , he was always seen and to this day still seen as Patrick and lance younger brother. When sophe  Richard sister was born ,kitty was now married and not living at 66 Colbeck avenue , but Sophe always called her aunt lilly mummy.

When her baby brother Jasper came to town in the late 1960s , mummy got him a foldaway bed which he opened up at night , because there was always room in the inn at 66 Colbeck ave. Jasper sometimes called her sister lilly or mummy.

When Thomas Prince sister ( aunt kitty) died in the late 1960s , Hubert Fearon came to lived at 66 colbeck ave until he migrated to the united kingdom in the 1990s.  When mummy was cooking for the household where we always had to eat dinner together as a family , if one family member did not like the meal she was cooking , she would always cook a separate meal for them .

When lorna martin ( nelly ann) first daughter came to live with us in the 1970s , she became part of mummy and daddy family in a now expanded 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house. When lorna wanted to change from the school she was going to go to meadowbrook high school , mummy proudly recall going to mr Thorpe ( the principal at the time) as mummy always tells the story when mr Thorpe heard lorna reading he was so impressed that she was promptly installed as a new student of Meadowbrook high school.

When I spoke to lorna after mummy passed , she said mummy had passed on to greater thing , just the way she had lived , quietly without any fussing or any trouble to anybody around her .  I think the best way to describe what lorna was saying was that as we would say in Jamaica “ mummy would a neva mas a ants”

When Juliet , her older brother ( flavia Pawood ) daughter came to live with us in 1980 , she in the tradition and real affection that was started by Florence ( kitty) in the 1950s , Juliet also called her  mummy.

When Wesley (who died recently) her sister Esmilda (milda) son came to live with us in the 1990s , he also called his aunt lilly , mummy.

When she moved to Orlando in 2001 she became closer to her niece Sharon Codner ( endora (sister galli daughter) who also called her mummy or sister lilly.

When I spoke to my fathers nephew James (chico) Prince about 6 weeks ago he wanted a number to speak to mummy or sister lilly as he affectionetely called her , because he had had spoken to her in some time and he had fond memories of her humility and her kindness. She told me that same day that she had spoken to chico and was happy to hear from him.

These anecedotal stories that are describe over a 60year span , give an idea of the life of our beloved mummy LILLY PRINCE , who had so much love and tolerance to give to all the family and friends who are mentioned and for those too numerous to mention.

This love , tolerance , quiet determination was especially given to her 4 children (DAUN, BIBBI, PATRICK and LANCE) her 7 grandchildren (NADIA, DANE, SEAN-PATRICK,DANIELLE.KYLE , THOMAS and ARANTXA) her great – grandchildren (MADISON , MASON , CARRIE and ZHYLO) where she will be forever in their hearts.

In closing and in the true and glorious tradition of mummy sharing her love over 60 years , I think in passing on august 19 2016 mummy may have left us a sign or some lotto number to play. The last time she visited Jamaica was August  19 2014 and the date her last passport was renewed was August 19 2008.

So if anybody plays these numbers and win , just remember in the tradition of our beloved MUMMY , sister and aunt , just do what she would have done SHARE.

-Glaister Prince