RE: tribute

2018-DEC-04-1908Hrs

Hi Mausicans,

Attached is the tribute that I gave at Mrs. Cuffie's funeral. Unfortunately because of circumstances I was asked only the night before.

I was very happy, however, to see Mausica well represented. The majority of the congregation was Mausica.

Blessings

Felix

"TRIBUTE TO MS. DAPHNE CUFFIE

I was asked to say a few words of tribute to the departed Mrs. Daphne Cuffie, and I want to stress the word ‘few.’ I however have found this very difficult not because of the length of time allotted to me, but because my knowledge of Mrs. Cuffie is somewhat limited, as I first met her when I was a student at Mausica  Teachers College so I know little or nothing of her earlier years, which I know would have been very important in forming her into what she eventually became. I nevertheless will share what I know of her in the time that I got to know her. Others who knew her better will give you more information.

Normally when we get to know people we notice that of aspect of their character that stands out most prominently and it is this that we would use to describe them. So we may describe one person as generous, another as domineering, someone as vindictive and yet another as friendly. What I found stood out most for me when I got to know Mrs. Cuffie in Mausica was her heart. Not just that she was hearty but she was what I would call ‘all heart.’ She loved to help.

What do I mean by this?  She impressed me as someone who put all her heart into whatever she did, whether it was work or play. I thought too that this attribute could not have been developed overnight but had to be nurtured from her very childhood. Thus what I am saying about Mrs. Cuffie from my encounter with her in Mausica can, I am surely confident, be applied to her entire life.

She worked tirelessly day and night to make sure she was giving her best. Students of Mausica can give many examples of what Mrs. Cuffie did to help them in their work. Hers was not an eight hour working day but she tried to use up as much as possible of her allotted twenty-four hours in helping others. Students know that I am not exaggerating when I say that after class when they were comfortably ensconced in their rooms at the hostel Mrs. Cuffie would appear, not to check on their behavior, but to offer assistance to those in need.

She had an eye for the weak. In other words she was able to identify the student who was having problems with their studies, and had difficulty understanding an area of the massive curriculum and she would offer help. She was so present in our lives that you would at times hear the expression, “O gosh, she cyah go home and sleep.” Her intention was not to be a bother, but to help and she did help many. I am sure that this distinguishing feature of her character was present from her early years and continued throughout her life.

It was the same Mrs. Cuffie when it came to the Mausica choir. Her enthusiasm was again evident at rehearsals where she taught, composed and conducted all to the benefit of her students. Her passion in conducting was such that on one occasion when conducting the choir on stage at Queen’s Hall, her extreme energy caused a degree of embarrassment, for her fervent body motions caused her skirt to begin a downward motion to the ground. She never noticed this and continued energetically to the end of the song.

The purpose of the foregoing anecdote was not just to evoke some humour but especially to give an example of how she put her heart into everything she did, whether curricula or extra-curricula.

Students and others who knew can share many more examples of this person who was so full of heart in everything she did. We do not now have the time to hear them all for she has to be buried today.

When describing people like Mrs. Cuffie we are tempted to use the cliché, “they don’t make them like that anymore.” I do not think that such a description does justice to her. I rather say that such people are rare and seldom made. They are shining examples in any age and are few and far between.

When people like Mrs. Cuffie depart this earth we often say that we have lost a good person. I say now what I said of another Mausica staff member Mr. Williams: We do not lose such people. They have given us so much that it is now up to us to invest the treasures that they have bequeathed to us. Mrs. Cuffie will remain in our memory, which is a power of the soul, and so as her body journeys away from the earth, may what she has done for us, her spirit, her soul, remain with us and may she enjoy everlasting happiness."

Felix Edinborough 65