Byrnece R. Browne-Burrowes – MILLBURY/GUYANA, South America.
Byrnece Rosanna Browne-Burrowes passed away on May 7th, 2012 in the UMass Memorial Medical Center, 55 Lake Ave. North after an illness. She is survived by her son Ronald H. Burrowes and his wife Kathy of Millbury as well as her two grandchildren Sophia and Julian, a sister Patricia Browne, a brother Maurice both of Guyana, South America and a sister Joan Lloyd of Anguilla, West Indies, many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Randolph Burrowes, sisters Gwen Felix, Claudia Browne, and brother Edmund Browne.
She was born December 31st 1934, the daughter of Gershom and Daisy Browne. In 1956, Byrnece became a Registered Staff Nurse at the Georgetown Hospital, and later traveled to London, Italy, the United States, and Scotland to further her Nursing studies. She held the post of Midwifery Tutor at the Elsie Inglis Maternity Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland where she was responsible for the education of midwives and the obstetric nursing component of basic nursing programs. She returned to Guyana in 1967 and became Midwifery Tutor at the Georgetown Public Hospital School of Nursing and later Principle Nursing Tutor. In the following years she earned her Bachelors and Masters Degree in Education from the University of Guyana. From 1981-1985 she was appointed to the post of the Caribbean Community Secretarial (CARICOM) as research and test development Officer. In April 1998 she became the first Guyanese health worker to receive the Pan American Health organization Director-General’s award. She was honored for her leadership in the preparation of generations of well-trained Nurse/Midwives, as well as her dedication to the community. After retirement as Principal Nursing Tutor at the Guyana school of nursing she was later re-employed as the Nursing Officer with the Guyana Agency for Health Sciences, Education, Environment and Food Policy, coordinating all education programs until March 2003 when she decided to finally retire from full time employment. Her life was filled with focus on caring for and supporting all people she came in contact with. She was energetic and active up until 2 months prior to her passing. Her grandchildren brought her much joy; they often enjoyed her Guyanese childrens' songs and lullabies and the special hugs and kisses from their “Gaga”.
When in the US, she attended Wesley United Methodist Church, Main St. in Worcester. Her faith gave her constant strength and purpose in all that she did. Her last written words were, “the going is uphill but God is in charge and I know he never fails us. He is ever present in all that I am”.
The family would like to thank the Staff of the Millbury Health Care Center for their exemplary care and treatment of Byrnece during her stay there as well as the Nursing Staff of Floor 4 East at UMASS Medical, University Campus, during her final days.
The funeral will be held on Thursday, May 10 at 10 AM in Wesley United Methodist Church 114 Main St. Worcester. Calling hours are on Wednesday, May 9 from 4 to 7 PM in the Alfred Roy & Sons Funeral Home 12 Hammond St. Worcester. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Wesley United Methodist Church 114 Main Street Worcester, MA 01608.
To share a memory of Byrnece or for directions please visit www.Royfuneral.com