FORMER Prime Minister PJ Patterson probably captured best the consensus among family, friends and associates of Marcia Erskine who filled the University of the West Indies Chapel to overflowing on Saturday, in a final tribute to the well-loved and respected public relations guru.

“In the many eloquent and deserving tributes that have been paid in the media and online there is one word that consistently recurs: ‘Excellence’. Justifiably so,” Patterson said as he paid tribute to the woman who, he told the congregation, had lately conferred on him “the unique distinction of ‘Uncle’ ”.

Describing Trinidad-born Erskine as “sagacious, graceful, humorous, astute, elegant, energetic, and of the finest pedigree” Patterson said, “Those who really came to know her recognised that the secret and frolicking side of my ‘niece’ often propelled her to have a good laugh at the expense of her most precious friends.”

He said when he learnt that Erskine had died on March 6, the day before he had a scheduled, professional appointment with her at his office, he recognised this was more than a cruel prank.

“It was an awesome reality with which we are all endeavouring to cope,” he said, adding that an “insistent and relentless pursuit of nothing but the best is what featured in every aspect of her life and the immortal memory we must cherish and preserve”.

“This Trini to the bone made her departure to yonder realms as a full and true Jamaican whose only shortcoming was her failure to master our 40-shilling vocabulary,” he added, eliciting laughter.

Patterson said the public relations firm — Erskine and Associates — she “built, brick by brick, never accepted any client purely because of monetary rewards, but always for a worthy cause.

“It had to be something in which she genuinely believed — issues such as promoting our Caribbean space; human resource development; corporate enterprises devoted to ethical business practices and notable charitable endeavours,” said Patterson, who is regarded as one of the Caribbean’s most influential statesmen.

He said that from the moment Erskine touched Jamaican soil her passion an expertise shone brightly, touching the lives of all those fortunate enough to cross her path.

“Her deep love of the craft and her innate love of the requisite skills helped the firm to promote and elevate Brand Jamaica on the global hospitality stage. She was a visionary whose comprehension of the nuances of public relations helped to establish unique and distinctive brands,” said Patterson.

Earlier, as the sea of mourners filled the pews, steel pan music transcended them to Erskine’s birth land.

The urn with her remains, nestled in white roses, was flanked by the Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica flags, a poignant symbol of her ‘Trini-Jam’ identity created by her marriage to Jamaican attorney Michael Erskine.

As the two-and-a-half-hour ceremony unfolded, the chapel resonated with heartfelt anecdotes and touching stories shared by colleagues, friends and family members — each one a testament of the profound impact Erskine had on countless individuals and organisations.

Her daughter Roshal Marshall shared that her mother was her confidante and friend, a woman famous for using “the royal we”.

Her mother, she said, would often ask, “ ‘Are we done having kids? When are we going back to work? Are we taking our vitamins?’ But in truth, she always made me feel like a we, that we were in this thing called life together.”

She said her mother left a legacy of love, devotion, strength, building friendships, and community.

“She showered me with such boundless love, unwavering support, and profound guidance that I can’t find a single thing to wish she had done differently,” said a teary-eyed Roshal.

“She equipped me with not just the essentials but with the tools to navigate life’s challenges with grace and resilience,” she added, often pausing when the words became too heavy to deliver.

A tribute written by Erskine’s grandson, Sule Marshall, was read by her husband Michael who revealed that he had no intention of being on the programme but when he learnt that his grandson was too nervous to speak in front of the large crowd, he had to intervene.

“How could I look at this sweet, innocent little boy and tell him no, I cannot read his reflections that he wrote about his grandma?” he said, sharing that Sule’s name for his grandmother was Amma.

“My Amma was the best ever, she always made me feel like I was the most special person in the world,” Michael Erskine read, his voice cracking.

“Every time she read to me and my sister or visited us it was like stepping into a magical world where anything was possible,” he read, fighting back the tears that inevitably fell from his sombre eyes.

“Amma’s smile could brighten up my sad days when I was unhappy. And her hugs made everything okay again, even when mommy and daddy are mad at me. I will miss her yummy treats and her funny stories, but most of all I’ll miss her love and kindness. She will always have a special place in my heart and I’ll never forget all the happy times we had with her. Amma is amazing,” he continued, with little Sule at his side tearing up as he heard the words he had written.

Erskine’s son Machel delivered a poem titled
Ode to Marcia,
written by a member of Women’s Leadership Initiative which described her as a “professional woman with wisdom profound, empowering women with voices resound”.

Tributes also came from Gary Williams, chairman and founder of Children of Jamaica Outreach which Erskine served as a director; chair of Women’s Leadership Initiative Eva Lewis; and UWI Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Hillary Beckles, who all shared that Erskine was more than just a public relations expert, she was charitable, kind, light-hearted and the embodiment of unity.

Erskine passed suddenly on March 6, 2024. A trained journalist with a degree in mass communication from The UWI, Mona, she began her career as a reporter with the
Trinidad Guardian and then Trinidad Express in the 1970s, before joining The Gleaner Company in 1981.