Vincentian O.A.S. Employee Laid to Rest

24.JULY.09

Molica Alicia Hurley, nee Kydd/Hazell, a long-serving employee of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C, was laid to rest after a dignified and serene funeral service on Saturday, 11th July, 2009. She was a national of St.Vincent and the Grenadines, and was employed at the O.A.S since 1994.{{more}}

“Molly,” as she was affectionately known, was born in Kingstown, St.Vincent and the Grenadines, on August 12, 1966, to Horace Hazell and the late Ina Hazell. She was the youngest of three children. She graduated from the Girls High School, and worked for a number of years as secretary at the Embassy of the Republic of China, before immigrating to Brooklyn, New York, where she met and married in 1987, her childhood friend David Hurley, a native of Barbados. From New York, she moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, and worked for fifteen years as a secretary at the O.A.S. She was highly regarded by her colleagues throughout the Caribbean and the Americas, and built an amazing network of friends and associates in the region.

At the O.A.S, she was the first Vincentian to be employed at the Headquarters of the General Secretariat. She was an esteemed and highly valued member of the staff servicing the Permanent Council, the organisation’s highest regularly functioning body, which meets weekly. Mrs. Hurley was the secretary of choice of Caribbean Ambassadors serving as President of the Permanent Council. She traveled frequently to O.A.S meetings in member states as an official of the conference secretariat.

Her service to the organization was praised by the Assistant Secretary General, (ASG), Ambassador Albert Ramdin, during his remarks at the Georgia Avenue Baptist Church ceremony. He made special mention of her reliability, confidentiality and comprehensive knowledge of her duties and responsibilities at the organization. He said that very often she was the first person to receive highly sensitive information, which was duly and discreetly channeled to the appropriate quarters for necessary action. The ASG, who is responsible for the operations of the Permanent Council secretariat, said that Molly was a shining example of what employees in such organizations should try to emulate.

The large congregation at the funeral service included colleagues, staff members of the O.A.S, Ambassadors, members of her faith community, members of the Vincentian and Caribbean communities, including the President of the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Nationals Association of Washington, D.C., Mr. Lennox Simon. Tributes were paid by relatives and friends, including her longstanding childhood friend and confidante, Mrs. Cornelia M. Layne, who was at Molly’s bedside with the family and other close friends when she passed on. Her uncle, Mr. Delbert Hazell, delivered a thank-you message on behalf of the family.

Molly Hurley was laid to rest at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland. She leaves to mourn her husband David Hurley, son Caleb, sister Aisha, brother Sylvester, and father Horace Hazell. May she rest in peace.