Berenice Dolly was very careful about the pronunciation of her name - "Ber-e-nice" and not just "Bernice" - an unusual one for an unusual woman.
Born almost 85 years ago, eldest sister to Vera (deceased) and Leslie, Ben as she became known, was married to the late Dr Reynold Dolly for 58 years at the time of his passing in January 1999.
During a Funeral Mass of Thanksgiving for her life on July 1, 2002, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church in San Fernando, Ben was eulogised by Yvonne Pilgrim, Executive Director of the Trinidad & Tobago Registered Nurses Association, and her daughter Joan Massiah, on behalf of her siblings, Stephen and Hilary. In 1929, Ben Grant was the first girl to top the College Exhibition exam. She attended Bishop Anstey High School, chose nursing as a profession and proceeded to dedicate her life to its development and to the recognition of the profession as equal to any other.
Strangely enough, just over two months ago, Dr Jocelyn Hezekiah, a Trinidadian nursing educator, based in Toronto, launched her book "Breaking The Glass Ceiling" in which she focused on three eminent and ageing nursing leaders in three Caribbean islands. Berenice Dolly was one of these women whom Dr Hezekiah felt "defied tradition within a traditional woman's occupation."
"This exemplar of the nursing profession" said Pilgrim "who epitomised strength of character, integrity, and ethical rectitude, contributed significantly to the development of the nursing profession locally, regionally and internationally; as well as to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago through her involvement in several community organisations." Ben Dolly's outstanding achievements spanned from the establishment of the Soroptomist International Port of Spain to the founding of the League of Women's Voters, and revival of the Tuberculosis Association Southern Region (renamed the Chest and Heart Association). She gave yeoman service to the Coterie of Social Workers, Julien Commission concerned with the Health Services of the Nation, Attorney General's Committee on Law Reform, Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago and Trinidad and Tobago Orchid Society.
Said Pilgrim "Mrs Dolly's life of service bears testimony to the high esteem in which she held the nursing profession, she struggled against great odds to promote the upgrading of its status...... spearheading the plans for amalgamation of the Nurses Association of San Fernando and Port of Spain to form the Trained Nurses and Midwives Association of Trinidad and Tobago, of which she was the first president." Ben's conviction that nurses should assume responsibility for regulating their profession and licensing their members for nursing practice, led, after decades of struggle to the establishment of the Nursing Council of Trinidad and Tobago in 1950.
At international level, the International Council of Nurses appointed Ben Dolly National Representative for this country at their Board of Directors Meeting in Brussels in 1951. And in 1953 at ICN's quadrennial Congress in Brazil, she presented the Association, received its acceptance into full membership in the ICN, and became a member of ICN'S Board of Directors.
At regional level, her significant service to the region was noted by Helen Mussallem, PAHO Project Director .
Recognition of sterling service to the Community and Nursing Profession brought Ben Dolly two National Awards - the Order of the British Empire and Public Service Medal of Merit Gold. An award from the TTRNA for Distinguished Service and a Tribute for Outstanding Service to the Nursing Profession and people of Trinidad and Tobago. The Coterie of Social Workers recognised her Distinguished Service and the T&T Alliance of the USA Inc paid tribute to this 'Nursing Pioneer.'
"Berenice Dolly was strong willed, dominant, uncompromising and as many would say "not easy" said daughter Joan. "Mummy was the strictest of disciplinarians. She made the rules and that was that - no compromise." Yet she was mother, mentor, friend and adviser, to those she cared about and devoted her time to ensuring that they fulfilled their potential, never letting them forget the power of God and that with him all things are possible. She had a clear idea of what was right and what was wrong based on old fashioned values, never flinched in this respect and always insisted that anything she did or anyone with whom she interacted must meet her standards, and if they didnt know how, were duly taught.
"Friendship was one of the cornerstones of Mummy's existence" said Joan. "Once committed, her friendship was eternal and knew no bounds. Nor was it confined to any one category of person. It was as available to those whom she chose as to those who were in need of it. She did not only extend the hand of friendship through the many organisations to which she belonged. What many might not know is that she also did this privately on an individual basis. There was always a child to be schooled, a house to be built, someone alone who needed a friend, meals to be provided, a prisoner to intercede for or to counsel - and if she could not fill the need herself she would marshall all the relevant forces necessary to do so. Such acts were among her last performed from what was to be her dying bed."
Ben Dolly and her husband complemented each other professionaly. They considered their professions vocations and both believed that as health practitioners their focus should be on the patient rather than the ailment. They shared a dedication to community service. Neither sought accolades and accepted them humbly when offered.