The Honorable

Sybil Ione McLaughlin

Born
Sybil Ione Bush

(1928-08-24)24 August 1928
Mobile, Alabama, USA
Died10 May 2022(2022-05-10) (aged 93)
South Sound, Cayman Islands
Nationality
  • Caymanian
EducationBaptist College in Managua
OccupationFirst Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (now House)

Clerk-Typist for the Commissioners Office First Clerk of the Legislative Assembly First Secretary to the CI Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Organist

Teacher
Years active1945 - 1996
EmployerGovernment of the Cayman Islands
Known forFounding Member of the Business & Professional Women's Club

Founding Member of the Rotary Sunrise Club

Founding Member of the Cayman Islands Tennis Club
SuccessorMabry S. Kirkconnell
SpouseVivian Delworth McLaughlin (married 1949)
ChildrenChristopher Vivian Delworth McLaughlin Gordon Malcolm Alfred McLaughlin
ParentCharles Christopher Bush Jr. Lottie Verona Bush nee Morton
RelativesJames Alfred Bush (brother)

Elizabeth Ann Bush (sister) Natascha Schroll-McLaughlin (granddaughter) Nikita Schroll-McLaughlin (granddaughter) Susanne Schroll (daughter-in-law)

Heather McLaughlin (daughter-in-law)
HonoursNational Hero of the Cayman Islands
Websitehttp://www.legislativeassembly.ky/portal/page/portal/lglhome/members/speakers/sybilmclaughlin

Sybil Ione McLaughlin born Sybil Ione Bush MBE, JP (24 August 1928 – 10 May 2022) was a Caymanian politician who became the First Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands. She was declared a National Hero in 1996.

Life

McLaughlin was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1928.

In 1945 she started working for the Government of the Cayman Islands, and when they received a constitution, she was made the clerk. During her career, her expertise was used in other parliaments. She worked at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Stormont House, and in the government offices of Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago.[1]

In February 1991, she was appointed as the First Speaker to the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly.[2] This was the Cayman Islands first woman speaker and this was achieved before the UK or the USA had their first woman speaker.[3]

She insisted that her sons gained a good education and every Sunday she would attend the South Sound Presbyterian Church where she played the organ.[3]

In 1996, she retired from her post and was named a National Hero of the Cayman Islands. This is the Cayman Islands' highest honor and was awarded because of her contributions to parliament and the community of the Cayman Islands.[4] She was also a of the founding members of the Business and Professional Women’s Club, the Rotary Sunrise Club, and the Cayman Islands Tennis Club.

On 10 May, 2022, she died at her son's home in South Sound.[5] Sybil McLaughlin lay in state at the House of Parliament in the Cayman Islands on the 19th of May. Her funeral was attended the following day.[6]

References

  1. ↑ National Heroes Day, Cayman Islands Government, Retrieved 12 February 2016
  2. ↑ Speakers, Cayman Islands Government, Retrieved 12 February 2016
  3. 1 2 "Sybil McLaughlin through the eyes of her son | Loop Cayman Islands". Loop News. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Hon. Mrs. Sybil Ione McLaughlin, MBE, JP, Cayman Islands Government, Retrieved 12 February 2016
  5. ↑ Ragoonath, Reshma (10 May 2022). "National Hero Sybil McLaughlin passes". Cayman Compass. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  6. ↑ Ragoonath, Reshma (17 May 2022). "National Hero Sybil Ione McLaughlin to lie in state at Parliament". Cayman Compass. Retrieved 11 August 2022.


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