Member of Parliament for Manchester Central, Rhoda Moy Crawford is mourning the loss of her mother.

Donnette Delores Falconer, affectionately called Darling, died suddenly last week aged 58.

A grief-stricken Crawford paid a heartfelt tribute to her mother on X, formerly Twitter, saying never before has she experienced such “agonizing pain”.

She highlighted that the memories of her mother she will hold dearest are her strength, commitment and resilience.

“When we lived with 17 extended family members in a 1 bedroom (in Grey Ground), made from wattle, daub, board & zinc, you sacrificed to care for me. Although we went to bed hungry many times & we lacked material luxuries, I never felt poor. You had no limit for my achievements,” Crawford wrote.

“During my primary school years when we moved to Tulsa Road in Knockpatrick, I watched you rising early, positioning a very large market bag with mainly rubber slippers as you made your way to Santa Cruz to sell in the market / outside of Morrison’s Store,” she continued. “I recall my many trips with you on Saturdays & how I enjoyed helping you to sell your goods. On days when I didn’t go with you, I waited up until late into the nights for your return. You wanted to make sure you had enough money to pay your monthly bills & to send me to school.”

Crawford also recalled how determined her mother was for her to get her tertiary education after she was accepted into Shortwood Teachers’ College although she “did not have the first dollar” to pay for any of the expenses.

“I recall that phone call you made to your sister asking if she could act as a guarantor as you prepared to ‘jump’ on the 5Am bus that would take you from Mandeville to Kingston so that you could borrow a portion of the fees from a lending agency; Kris An Charles,” Crawford said.

She said, despite the excruciating pain of losing her mother, she is comforted by the precious memories and the fact that her mother saw her sacrifices bear fruit.

“What a journey we have had my always smiling mama, I will carry you forever in my heart, death has stolen all our future plans but it has not stolen all our many precious memories of yesterday,” the first-time MP said, adding “I am happy that you lived to witness my becoming Member of Parliament in the constituency that has been your home for 58 years and your son (my dear little brother ) commencing 3rd year at Northern Caribbean University… I am happy too that you lived to enjoy/experience many of the things that you once prayed for and that you know that you were loved.”