Lester Bird buried

Antigua and Barbuda’s late former Prime Minister Sir Lester Bryant Bird was laid to rest last Thursday after a state funeral at which he was remembered with many accolades.

Following a procession, a funeral service was held at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium on a day declared a national holiday to ensure as many as possible attended for the national hero who died on Aug. 9 aged 83.

Many tributes were delivered at the funeral service. One of Sir Lester’s daughters, Donyelle Bird-Browne, delivered the eulogy, reflecting on his personal life and his contribution to the country he led from 1994 to 2000, succeeding his father, Sir Vere Cornwall Bird.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne said at the service that he was a special son of the soil, whose contribution spanned sports, politics and law.

Browne recalled his contribution beyond Antigua and Barbuda, and to regional integration and the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.