At 106 years old, Aunt May is reunited with Jamaican relatives in Cuba
Published: May 22, 2006
DOROTHY Whyte has always wondered about her aunt Hilda May Marshall, affectionately called ‘Aunt May’ who migrated to Cuba more than eighty years ago. Aunt May was the only one of her mother’s siblings that she hadn’t met. The only memories she had of her aunt was from the stories her mother told her growing up.
So Whyte jumped at the chance when her cousins decided that they would go to Cuba to celebrate Aunt May’s 106th birthday two weeks ago.
Marshall was born on May 5, 1900 in Brighton, St Elizabeth. All but one of her siblings are deceased - Whyte’s mother.
“My mother always corresponded with Aunt May and then four years ago my brother, Effiom and his wife Shirley took my mother to Cuba to meet her and that was the first anybody in my family had ever made physical contact with her since she left,” she said.
“She lives in the Province of Holguin in Cuba. Many Jamaicans live there, but very few of them have kept in touch with their families here.”
Whyte’s eyes lit up as she recalled the elaborate birthday party that was held for her aunt and the first time she laid eyes on her. She remembers anxiously travelling in a 1960 Russian vehicle for hours before she finally made it to her aunt’s house.
“It was very emotional for me to see this person who I had heard so much about for so many years,” she said, with a grin. “We hugged and kissed - and cried.”
Marshall left Jamaica in 1920 to live with one of her sisters in Cuba. A few years later, her sister moved back, but Marshall decided to stay even when she had the chance to live in other countries.
She worked in the sugar industry for many years and married a fellow Jamaican - Frank Cousins - from St Thomas who also lived in Cuba. They had three children, but only one is still alive today. After a marriage of more than 50 years her husband died and she moved in with her daughter Bebebica Marshall.
There are three generations of Aunt May’s now resident in Cuba - her daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Aside from a slight limp, Whyte says Aunt May has no ailments and has a very vivid memory.
“She remembered all her sisters and brothers,” Whyte said. “She also showed us a photo album with pictures that my mother had sent her that I had never seen before…. I think it is touching to see that here I was connecting with someone who had no contact with her family for over 80 years.”
Longevity runs in Whyte’s family.
“Six of my aunt and uncles lived past their 80th birthday. My mother is 88 and my father died when he was 102,” she said.
The Jamaican family reunion, Cuban style, included Whyte’s three cousins, Sheila Bullock from Toronto and Winnifred and Gloria Marshall from New York who had travelled hundreds of miles to celebrate with their aunt.
Whyte chuckled as she recalled how Aunt May’s birthday cake arrived at the party.
“They took the cake to the house on a bicycle,” she said, pointing out a photograph of the scene.
“I had this yearning for family and I had to reach out,” said Whyte, who has worked in the Cabinet Office at Jamaica House for over five years and a member of the Baha’i faith.
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