Tributes have been paid to a trailblazer in public service, Dr. Daphne Phillips-Gaskin, a woman described by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar as a close friend.
Dr. Phillips-Gaskin, a former Government Minister, died at the age of 82 on December 3rd, and tributes were paid to her on December 17th by her family and friends.
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said her friend was brilliant, and it showed in the tributes paid to her by her family. She said that for someone like Dr. Phillips-Gaskin, words can never be enough for tribute.
“Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. Those words speak powerfully to Daphne’s life. Daphne was a distinguished scholar, as we heard. She was a devoted public servant. She was guided always by conscience and principle. She was also a trusted colleague and a sister in service.”
Dr. Phillips-Gaskin’s career was marked by dedication to advancing women’s empowerment and community, and family development.
She was a trained social scientist and an experienced nurse and educator who taught and mentored health professionals across the region.
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar reminisced that at the height of her career, Dr. Phillips-Gaskin was one of a few women in the United National Congress. She said she brought her personal integrity to her public life.
“As a senior lecturer, she believed education carried an obligation. Knowledge, to Daphne, meant uplifting and strengthening communities. When she entered public life, she carried that gravity into government. I was there; I remember well.”
She credited her late friend for creating a human and humane national agenda during the UNC’s 2001 Administration.
Also paying tribute was Dr. Phillips-Gaskin’s son, Atiba Phillips, who said his mother ran a long race and has left a major legacy for her offspring to carry forward.
“We will honour her by living out her best traits: discipline, compassion, humility, public service, faith, and excellence. We take the baton from you, Mom, and we will run our leg of the race with the dignity, joie de vivre, and perseverance that defined yours.”
A number of government officials also attended the funeral service for Dr. Daphne Phillips-Gaskin, held at the Trinidad Christian Centre in Diego Martin.