Governor de Jongh Extends Condolences on Death of Former
St. Thomas-St. john District Senator, Lorraine L. Berry

Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. learned late Monday night of the death of Lorraine L. Berry. He wishes, on behalf of himself, his wife Cecile, and all the people of the Virgin Islands to express condolences to her husband Richard, her daughter Roxanne, her son Kurt and the members of her extended family. “May the grief and sorrow they feel today be assuaged by the fact that her suffering is no more,” de Jongh said.

“With the death of Senator Berry, we have lost a major figure of Virgin Islands politics. Our history will long remember Senator Berry’s twelve terms as a Senator, several as President of the Legislature, during which she was a steady champion of all Virgin Islanders,” de Jongh said, adding, she understood clearly the connections between a strong private sector, the revenues a growing economy could deliver and the stability of government to provide services to our people. The governor said that although she was elected in the St. Thomas-St. John district, Lorraine Berry sought to improve the lot of all Virgin Islanders wherever they lived, wherever they were born, and whatever their station in life. “Hers was a true life of public service,” de Jongh said. 

Senator Berry's work in advancing the rights and protections of women and children was a hallmark of her long career. Additionally, she initiated and encouraged many of the efforts to preserve and celebrate French Heritage here in the Virgin Islands.

RELATED AUDIO- Statement by Governor deJongh .mp3 (2MB)

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