Official Funeral for Lady Bustamante

Lady Bustamante, widow of National Hero, the Rt. Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante, is to be given an official funeral by the Government of Jamaica.
The service will be held at the Sts. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in Liguanea Kingston on Saturday, August 8, starting at 1:00 pm. August 8 will also be observed as a national day of mourning.
Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, in making the announcement today (July 29) at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, informed that the casket bearing the body of Lady Bustamante, will be borne by carriage from Sts. Peter and Paul Church to National Heroes’ Park for interment.
Mr. Golding noted that there had been a previous arrangement to have Lady Bustamante buried beside Sir Alexander Bustamante and that the Government is now working with the Jamaica Heritage Trust, the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) and other relevant agencies, to make these arrangements.
Meanwhile, condolence books will be opened at Jamaica House on Hope Road; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in New Kingston; all overseas missions; all parish and municipal councils; the Bureau of Women’s Affairs at 4 Ellesmere Road; and at the Bustamante Museum at Tucker Avenue.
Books will also be opened at the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) headquarters on Belmont Road and at the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union’s (BITU) Duke Street location.
Lady Bustamante will lie in state at the BITU on Tuesday, August 4 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, and at the JLP headquarters from 2:00 pm. A memorial shrine will be opened from Monday, August 3 to Friday, August 7 at the Bustamante Hospital for Children on Tom Redcam Drive.
Lady Bustamante died on July 25 at age 97. Affectionately called ‘Lady B’, she was a staunch defender of women’s and workers’ rights. She was committed to the BITU, which her husband found, and was its Honorary Treasurer and a Trustee up until her death. When Jamaica gained Independence in 1962, Lady Bustamante became Jamaica’s first ‘First Lady, when she married then Prime Minister, Sir Alexander Bustamante.