Favourable comments from the Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to leading business chambers showed the late Karen de Montbrun was loved and respected by all sectors of society, said Father Peter de la Bastide who gave the sermon yesterday at her funeral."She was able to contaminate everyone with whom she came into contact. The kind messages from the Prime Minister, business chambers, the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers' Association (TTMA) showed how she lived her life. The type of life she lived influenced not only her family but society," he said yesterday at the funeral service at St Finbar's RC Church, Diego Martin.
De Montbrun, a former head of the TTMA and the only female president to date, passed away on April 14 after she succumbed to her two-year long battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She was aged 63.Prominent persons from the business community at the funeral included current CEO of the TTMA, Ramesh Ramdeen; president of the TTMA Nicholas Lok Jack and a past president of the T&T Chamber of Commerce Ian Collier.De La Bastide, who gave the sermon to a packed church, described her personality as being "Type A" and said she worked tirelessly to help others."During the 1970 Black Power revolution she took charge as a teacher. But she was not perfect as none of us are. She was a true missionary and never succumbed to fear," he said.
The Prime Minister described De Montbrun as one of the "leading women in the private sector" in her tribute days after her death. She said De Montbrun lived a "life of determination and achievement."Ramdeen, just after her death had said she had given "tremendous service" not only to manufacturing and business but also to the country.After the service, her body was carried to the crematorium, Long Circular Road, St James.