Dr. Tufton’s Mother, Ruby Blake, Dies

Well known retired civil servant, Ruby Blake, mother of Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Christopher Tufton, died last night (July 23) in the Tony Thwaites Wing of the University Hospital of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston.
Ms. Blake, who spent over 30 years as a civil servant working with the Ministry of Labour, had been admitted to the hospital a week ago, after suffering a stroke. She had been suffering from breast cancer up to the time. She was 64 years old.
“She was both my mother and father. She was a great single parent, who provided all the parenting we needed,” Dr. Tufton said on behalf of himself and his four siblings, when contacted by JIS News last night.
“She was extremely hard working, a strong disciplinarian with very strong faith, who also got a lot of satisfaction from serving the less fortunate,” he added.
Dr. Tufton’s siblings are Sharon Miller, a diplomat in Washington; Bryan, a member of the Canadian security forces; Andrew, who was trained at the Jamaica Theological Seminary; and, Shelly, a trained nurse.
Dr. Tufton has been a Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament for South West St. Elizabeth since 2007, when the Bruce Golding Administration assumed office.