Household, pals, supporters and well-wishers on Sunday celebrated with Grenadian centenarian Judith Mends on her 108th birthday.
Grenadian-born dentist Dr. Joseph Radix, Mrs. Mends’s nephew, and his spouse, Barbadian-born Justice Sylvia Hinds-Radix, hosted a grand birthday bash on the Radix’s residence in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Among the many guests and friends have been New York Metropolis Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and his Grenadian-born mom, Patricia Williams.
Dr. Radix instructed Caribbean Life that his aunt was born in Petit Martinique, the smallest of the tri-island state of Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique.
He mentioned that Mrs. Mends spent most of her youthful years residing in Carriacou as a enterprise proprietor, working a normal retailer.
“She was very concerned in lots of points of the Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique neighborhood,” Dr. Radix mentioned. “She was a powerful supporter of her next-door neighbor and former Prime Minister Herbert Blaize.
“She taught piano classes, organized cultural actions, spearheaded the constructing of a neighborhood middle in Carriacou,” he added. “She was and nonetheless is an enormous supporter of the Hillsborough Roman Catholic Church in Carriacou.”
Dr. Radix mentioned Mrs. Mends is considered one of two sisters nonetheless alive. The opposite is Christina Roberts, one other centenarian, at 101, residing in St. George’s, the Grenadian capital.
Dr. Radix mentioned he was “blessed” to have Mrs. Mends as his aunt and her attainment of the numerous milestone, stating that he loves her “dearly.”
“She is not any nonsense, but very compassionate,” he mentioned. “She is a real matriarch of this household, and one who leads by instance.
“She is going to at all times provide her ideas, concepts and even implement them earlier than you settle for them,” Dr. Radix added. “For me, she contributes a few years of knowledge.”
He mentioned his aunt, affectionately known as “Auntie Judith”, comes from a comparatively massive household of eight youngsters.
Dr. Radix mentioned Mrs. Mend’s sister, Alethea (deceased), was his mom.
Mrs. Mends mentioned she felt “liked and needed” by the birthday celebration.
One other nephew, dentist Dr. Eugene Stanislaus, son of the late Dr. Lamuel Stanislaus, a former Grenada Ambassador to the United Nations, remarked about “the shut bond” between his dad and his aunt.
Lawyer Jovia Radix-Seaborough, the eldest daughter of Dr. Radix and Justice Hinds-Radix, mentioned her household is “nonetheless blessed” that “Auntie Judith” continues to be of their lives and that they’re nonetheless gaining “pearls of knowledge from her.”
Dr. Radix mentioned his aunt is “nonetheless absolutely cognizant and has all of her colleges,” stating, nevertheless, that “she is aided by a walker.”
“She has a implausible reminiscence and might recite individuals’s cellphone numbers with none help,” he mentioned.
“She continues to be very concerned along with her church in Carriacou, and is at all times asking for contributions to assist her church and her neighborhood,” Dr. Radix added.
