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Renowned author, historian Margery Kirkpatrick passes on
Margery Kirkpatrick was a remarkable woman who dedicated much of her life to the service of others.
Well-known caterer, author and historian of the Chinese movement in Guyana, Mrs. Margery Kirkpatrick spent a large period of her adult life promoting culture. She maintained a good reputation during those years.
Margery Kirkpatrick
But Kirkpatrick is no more. The historian, 76, passed away early yesterday morning at the Caribbean Heart Institute.
Her daughter, Melanie McTurk confirmed the news and informed this publication that her mother had two other children and two grandchildren. The woman was born Margery Joy Alexander Ting-a-Kee on October 24, 1938 to parents Victor and Cicely Ting-A-Kee and she said that she was the only girl among her parents’ eight children.
As a youngster, Kirkpatrick attended Mrs. Duggins’ Private School and later the Bishops’ High School, then an all girls’ school for top performers.
McTurk told this publication that soon after leaving school, her mother started working at the Royal Bank to assist her mother in the upbringing of her brothers since her father had died when she was 12. During the 1970’s, Kirkpatrick was recognised as the highest ranking female banker.
In 1972, she married Dougal Kirkpatrick. She said that her mother was also skilled in the culinary arts, catering for the nutritional needs of the National Assembly up until the early 2000’s.
Her mother, McTurk recalls, wrote a number of recipe books over the years, many of which featured rice-flour recipes especially during the days when wheat-flour was banned in Guyana.
McTurk said her mother was the recipient of the Medal of Service for her outstanding contribution and charitable work in Guyana. McTurk recalls her mother working tirelessly not only to understand how the commodity was used but also pass on her knowledge.
Kirkpatrick, her daughter fondly recalls, championed the return of wheat-flour to Guyana. According to her, it was the writer’s arguments to then President Desmond Hoyte that helped to lift the ban.
In recent years, Mrs. Kirkpatrick was a prominent member of the Chinese Association of Guyana for her dream was to reinvigorate the association and to build a bridge between Chinese immigrants and those who had long since made Guyana their homeland.
“She was a patriotic woman who loved her country deeply. Mommy even went out for Mashramani this year.” Mrs. Kirkpatrick dedicated herself to the preservation of the Guyanese-Chinese culture and had many publications documenting the Chinese in Guyana.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick wrote and published two books on the history of Chinese, chronicling the early experience of Chinese women and then her own memoir.
By skillfully putting the memories of her past on paper, Kirkpatrick in her second publication, ‘The Way We Were: Memories of a British Guiana Childhood’ transported her readers into the days where neighbours lived like the true meaning of the word, where, only school, church and family mattered in a young one’s life.
Apart from her excellent humanitarian skills and her contribution to society, Mrs. Kirkpatrick was also among six outstanding women who were honoured at the 2002 Woman of Distinction Awards.
Remembered as one with a melodious voice, Kirkpatrick was one of the original members of the Woodshire Choir. She was also a former member of the BHS Old Girls’ choir and the Royal Bank Singers and prior to her death, a soprano singer in St. Saviour’s Church choir.
Members of the St. Saviour’s Anglican Church and the Anglican community across Guyana will also remember the outstanding works and charitable efforts of Mrs. Kirkpatrick.
“Even though my mother was Anglican, she was highly regarded even in the Roman Catholic church. While she was sick, a church service was held for her.”
McTurk said that her mother dedicated her life to the service of others, especially women and children.
“She was a creative, majestic and dynamic person. Despite her diminutive size, she was a powerhouse of a personality,” McTurk recalled warmheartedly.
“She was the sort of person people just loved. My mother believed that you could never run out of love, that the more people you share your life with and the more people you gave your love to, the more you would have to share.”
“With all the projects and people she adopted in her life, there was never a moment you ever felt there wasn’t enough love around,” McTurk said.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick was also remembered for being a champion ballroom dancer.
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