Former Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary in the Office of Premier and Minister of Finance Dr The Honourable D. Orlando Smith, Mrs Dian Liburd has died and with her passing the territory has turned to mourning over the loss of a humble and noteworthy individual. Photo: Facebook

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Premier's Office, Mr Brodrick Penn described the late Mrs Dian Liburd as a humble professional who was pleasant to be around. Photo: VINO/File

It is this news site’s information that Mrs Dian Liburd died a few days ago after a period of illness. Photo: Facebook

It is this news site’s information that Mrs Liburd died a few days ago after a period of illness.

At the news, several persons and institutions with whom she had been associated with, including the Office of the Premier, BVI Cancer Society and the church for which she was the First Lady, Mount Carmel Baptist Church, took to social media showering her loved ones with messages of condolences.

Extremely organised & dependable

Premier Smith wrote on his Facebook page that it is with a sense of great loss that the territory accepts her passing. “Dian was an integral part of the Ministry of Finance for over 10 years. Dian, an extremely organised and dependable person, was very committed to the BVI and the work of the Ministry. Dian was a woman of strong faith and belief in the good of others. Her kind spirit and pleasant personality was felt throughout the office.”

He recalled her service not only as Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary but also somewhat as the ‘office mom’ to most of the junior staff. “Our hearts are saddened. Dian, you left us a lot sooner than we anticipated but I am sure I speak for not only the Ministry but the entire BVI when I say, you will be missed. We extend deepest sympathies to her husband Pastor Liburd, her mother and all her family,” said Premier Smith.

Professional & humble

Mrs Liburd had direct working relationship also with Acting Permanent Secretary Mr Brodrick Penn who in a moving statement said, "Dian/Ms Libie, was the light that made the work and sometimes personal life of all of us here in the Premier’s Office brighter and our days easier. When she wasn’t playing mother, counselor, friend - she was just laughing and in turn made each of us laugh. Her excellent professional competence and abilities were not at all reflected in how humble she carried herself.”

He further said that she loved country above all else, but she also loved people and life. “Like the saying goes, she was always ‘high on life’ and that was in part because she was grounded in an unshakable faith and trust in God,” Mr Penn told Virgin Islands News Online.

The Acting PS also recalled that recently in the office he and other members of staff had reflections on their time with ‘Ms Libie’ as they fondly called her and what was clear to them was that she touched each of them in a profound way and she will be really missed. “Right now we are all just carrying on with some semblance of normality and in the spirit of happiness and unison that she brought to this office."

The Mount Carmel Baptist Church was among the first to announce the death of Mrs Liburd on social media.

“We at the Mount Carmel Baptist Church would like to announce with regret the passing of our Beloved First Lady Mrs Dian Liburd. It hardens our hearts at this current time but we will like to heartedly Thank All the Churches, Family, Friends, Church members, and well-wishers for their condolences & sympathies we Thank you,” said the church in announcing her passing.

One Wilma Fahie, commenting on social media, said “I have never met one like her, A REAL GEM AND GODLY WOMAN, she always had a smile and kind words. I'm going to miss her calling me Willy Dynamite, my school name, RIP D, WE WILL MEET ONE DAY.”

In addition to the credit she received during her lifetime as a professional and yet humble person, Mrs Liburd was honoured among five other government employees of the first quarter in the year 2009.