Many honours were bestowed on Lady B in recognition of her exemplary service to Jamaica. A grateful nation conferred on her the high honour of Order of Jamaica in 1979. Ten years earlier, in 1969, Venezuela awarded her its prestigious Golden Orchid.

Along with Edna Manley, like herself the widow of a national hero, she received an Honour Award from The Gleaner Company in 1984.

For her service to the Jamaica Labour Party, she was made a life membership in 1979, the first person to be so honoured. The BITU paid tribute to her by creating the Lady Bustamante Fellowship in 1973.

The United Nations presented her with a plaque for outstanding public service in Jamaica to mark the end of the UN Decade of Women 1976-86.

Recognition from overseas

Recognition also came to her from groups and organisations in the United States: New York, Florida and Los Angeles. The city of Opa-Locka, Florida, declared December 10, 1988 'Lady Bustamante Day' for her "commitment to the betterment of humankind".

Local groups joined in honouring one of their own. The Lions Club of Kingston did so in 1965. The staff and friends of the Bustamante Hospital for Children honoured her in 1984 for 21 years of service in the field of social work. She was awarded the Model Life trophy by the Harmony in Homes Movement in 1985.

Young Jamaica, the youth arm of the JLP, gave her a citation in 1979 in recognition of her dedication to Sir Alexander's ideals. The Joint Trade Union Research and Development Centre honoured her, along with other stalwarts of the trade union movement, in 1983.

1967: Surprise anniversary cake: Sir Alexander Bustamante and Lady Bustamante receive a surprise cake for the prime minister on Ash Wednesday, February 8, 1967, from a member of the household staff at Jamaica House, Beryl Woolery. The occasion was the 25th anniversary of the release of Sir Alexander from Up Park Camp on February 8, 1942.