Pioneer librarian/educator saluted
Published:Saturday | June 1, 2013 | 12:00 AM
SHE SERVED her country in various capacities for nearly five decades, and yesterday, the late Dr Joyce Lilieth Robinson was remembered as a great Jamaican citizen.
A pioneer in the fields of library studies and adult education in Jamaica, the St James native was lauded during an official funeral at the University Chapel in St Andrew as the "little girl from St Mary" who rose to become an effective leader, a strategic thinker and a caring woman whose honesty and integrity was never in question.
"Raising the level of national literacy became one of Dr Robinson's greatest achievements," said Lascelles Lewis, the former chairman of the Jamaica Movement for the Advancement of Literacy (more popularly known as JAMAL), in his tribute marking her service to the adult-learning institution.
PROUD MOMENT
For her sister, Carolyn Allen, Robinson's greatest moment was her rise from humble beginnings to address the United Nations at its world headquarters in the United States.
"I went to see my sister address the United Nations. Can you imagine how 'boasy' I was? I wished daddy was there. Oh, how proud he would have been of her!" Allen said.
"You have made us very proud, Joyce," she continued.
During her outstanding career as a public servant, Robinson also served as head of the Jamaica Library Service, the National Library of Jamaica, and the HEART Trust/NTA.
Despite all the accomplishments, her son Anthony Robinson revealed that loving and caring for her family was her greatest joy.
"Make no mistake. We, her children (including daughter Dr Ann Bridgewater), were her greatest pride and joy," Anthony recalled.
He acknowledged the outpouring of tributes to his late mother, but said they "do not do justice to her dedication to building her beloved Jamaica by developing our people.
"This passion found expression through her work, her voluntary service, and through her family and friends," he said.
Dr Robinson passed away at the University Hospital of the West Indies on May 12. She was 87 years old.