The Life of Parwedie (Gina) Persaud - by Chandra Budhram

Mom was born on August 10, 1943 at Whim Village, Corentyne, Guyana.  She was the daughter of Maryai and Richard Ragwen, the sister of the late Payen, Raymond, Ronald and Sita.  She is survived by one sister Elma and three brothers, Burtie, Eddy and Roy.  She was the wife of the late Thakur Persaud Lall.

Mom was married at the age of 16 on December 27, 1959.   By age 25 she had 4 daughters, Meena, Chandra, Devika and the late Ena.   Mom was hard-working, a devoted wife and extremely quiet.   She loved all eight of her grandchildren.  Mom was quiet by nature and never expressed her feelings.  I saw her very angry only once in my lifetime.  I couldn't remember what I did, but I remembered the penalty.  She grabbed me by the hair and bounced my head back and forth against the wall.  I was wearing a gold bangle at the time, and the bangle got bent as I was trying to protect my head. Then when dad came home from work, it was double whammy for me. That was the one and only time I saw her act out her anger.

She and dad migrated to the US in February 1987.  Mom enjoyed going to temples and religious functions.  She was a staunch member of the America Shivashram Sangha and the New York Milan Mandir in Queens, NY.   In 2004 she moved to Florida and started going to the Saraswate Devi Mandir where she would arti the entire crowd.  On our way home from temple, dad would say "Gina you have to hurry up" and I would chime in too, but that was mom she didn't want to leave anyone out.

As she got weaker, temple did not interest her so she did her prayers at home.  I saw changes in her that worried me.  I've had many sleepless nights thinking how I could make things better.   Mom endured a lot in her lifetime, and at age 19 she buried her third child when she was only 9 months old.  Dad was mom's cloak of protection and when he passed away her children, sons-in-law and grandchildren took over dad's responsibilities.

Mom's health declined rapidly. Two weeks after her 75th birthday, she could not balance herself and had many falls.  She started using a walker but after a week of using the walker she couldn't stand and ended up in a wheelchair.  Since dad passed away mom never cried, she got more reserved. She told me one day that she don't know how she got like this.   It broke my heart when I heard her say that.  When she got confined to bed I've seen tears every day but she would not say why she cries.   We love you mom and the memories we have of you will forever live on.  May Guru Maharaj hold your hands and carry you across your journey, may Lord Vishnu brighten your path to his abode and keep you there forever.  May you rest in eternal peace.

Parwedie's legacy is survived by her three children, Meena Gunpat, Chandra Budhram and Devika Darson, sons in law, Leonard Gunpat, Trebenie Budhram and Fredrick Darson; and eight grandchildren, Amit Budhram, Aneil Budhram, Joshua Gunpat, Rebecca Gunpat, Sarah Darson, Stephen Darson, Sophia Darson and Sonia Darson.

There will be a visitation on Tuesday, June 25, 2019 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at Serenity Meadows Funeral Home. She will be laid to rest next to her husband at Serenity Meadows Memorial Park.