Lee An­na Ma­haraj

leean­na.ma­haraj@guardian.co.tt

Just about a week be­fore of­fi­cial cel­e­bra­tions for the “Moth­er of All Car­ni­vals” are set to be­gin, the chair­man of the Na­tion­al Car­ni­val Com­mit­tee (NCC), Win­ston “Gyp­sy” Pe­ters, is mourn­ing the death of his wife.

In a state­ment, the NCC not­ed that Mar­va Pe­ters died on Jan­u­ary 2, and ex­pressed con­do­lences to the be­reaved fam­i­ly. The cause of her death and the de­tails of her fu­ner­al were not re­vealed to the pub­lic.

Guardian Me­dia reached out to “Gyp­sy” Pe­ters for a com­ment, but up to late on­Wednes­day there was no re­sponse.

Mean­while, some peo­ple took to so­cial me­dia to ex­press con­do­lences.

For­mer min­is­ter of ed­u­ca­tion and mem­ber of par­lia­ment, Dr Tim Gopeesingh, said he knew Mar­va Pe­ters for many years, as they both lived in Fyz­abad, and her pres­ence would be great­ly missed.

He said, “I have love­ly rec­ol­lec­tions of our many in­ter­ac­tions and con­ver­sa­tions over the years, and I know that Gyp­sy great­ly trea­sured her un­par­al­leled sup­port as a spouse, com­pan­ion and friend. She will tru­ly be missed by many. I wish Gyp­sy, their chil­dren and all their loved ones strength and God’s com­fort dur­ing this dif­fi­cult pe­ri­od, and may Mar­va’s won­der­ful soul rest in eter­nal peace.”

Er­rol Pe­ru, who co-man­ages the Back to Ba­sics Ca­lyp­so Tent, along with Gyp­sy, said Mar­va Pe­ters passed away in New York. He al­so ex­pressed con­do­lences on so­cial me­dia.

The Ma­yaro com­mu­ni­ty page, Ma­yaro, New Lands, Guayagua­yare Vil­lage and Or­toire, al­so paid trib­ute to her.

“Sin­cere con­do­lences to Win­ston Gyp­sy Pe­ters up­on the pass­ing of his wife Mar­va Pe­ters in New York. May the mem­o­ries held deep in­side your heart help to com­fort you through this try­ing time. She was an ex­tra­or­di­nary, lov­ing, car­ing, and de­vot­ed wife. She will sure­ly be missed by many. May she sleep in peace,” the state­ment said.

Face­book user Cleav­on Phill said: “My deep-felt con­do­lences go out to Mr Win­ston ‘Gyp­sy’ Pe­ters on the pass­ing of his wife Mar­va Pe­ters. Moth­er Pe­ters will be dear­ly missed.”

An­oth­er user, Jacque­line Phillips, said: “May she rest in par­adise and may God give her fam­i­ly and friends strength in this time of grief.