By Kenicia Francis
Former Police Commissioner Delano Christopher, the first female to hold the position in the Caribbean, was laid to rest yesterday.
Christopher, of Gunthropes, died on February 11. She was appointed to the top spot in 2005 and retired in 2008.
Speaking after her funeral on Wednesday, her son Hans Williams told Observer, “She was the strongest woman I’ve ever known”.
He described her as “a workaholic and very independent”.
He said when he would try to talk to his mother about how much she worked, she would laugh it off because, “as a single parent of two children she knew she had to provide for us”.
Williams said she would encourage him to put his best foot forward and to not be shy by saying, “an opportunity lost can never be regained”.
Also remembering her fondly was Jermaine Edwards. Edwards stood at the entrance to the Spring Gardens Moravian Church, where the service was held, with a petition to rename American Road to Delano Christopher Highway.
She told Observer that she knew Christopher since she was a child growing up in the village of Golden Grove.
“Growing up as a young lady in her village, I was intimidated by her. Not because I was afraid of her, but I knew I had to keep my head up and my shoulders back because she stood for no nonsense,” Edwards said.
“I started this petition so that we can acknowledge the work that she has done and to remember that we have women contributing to society in a strong way,” she added.
Current Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney stated, “We are very proud of her achievement and that small Antigua could lead the way for other female commissioners in law enforcement agencies across the region.”
He went on to say, “As much as it is paining our hearts to see that she had to leave us at still a young age … we are thankful that we had her for the time she spent with us, which was 39 years of dedicated service.
“We will continue to encourage and motivate women so that they recognise that they are important and they make a big difference in the contribution we have to do to serve the public.”
Rodney added, “Let this be an encouragement to us, both men and women, to continue to serve the community with dedication and commitment.”
Superintendent Louisa Benjamin-Quashie disclosed that she went to the Greenbay Primary School and Moravian Church alongside Christopher.
“We as females have to be grateful because she paved the way …and gave us hope that we can advance,” she said.
“We are making strides. Yesterday is the first time we’ve ever had all female pallbearers and we did that especially for our first female commissioner of police,” she noted.
Superintendent Quashie also stated, “We are more included as it relates to different training and different areas of policing so no longer are we solely responsible for clerical work.”
She added, “There is room for improvement and we’re working towards that.”
