The caregivers, Effie and Seragh Lakasingh, painted a picture of a woman who loved to hug and enjoyed close connections with everyone. On her many trips to the rural parts of the island, Lady Bustamante often stopped to call on old friends and party supporters and, if they were no longer at the address, she remembered the neighbours by name and visited with them instead. She also had a gift of cash, no matter how small to leave with them.

It was also on one of those country journeys that Lady B when told at about two o'clock in the morning that they had better start the return journey to Irish Town, declared: "The night is young and so are we." She often stopped at a tree somewhere along the route and that was the signal that she was ready to take the wheel from whomever was driving. She loved to drive herself and often dismissed the assigned driver and security team so that she could be with her three favourite friends.

Left Mike Henry in the dust

Sir Florizel Glasspole takes a turn on the dance floor with Lady Bustamante.

On another occasion, the Lakasinghs recalled the time Seragh was too ill to take the wheel for the return journey from a weekend in Negril. After a delay, Lady Bustamante told him to sit in the back seat. She instructed Effie to sit with him and take care of him and she took over the driver's seat, speeding like the proverbial bat out of hell back to St Andrew.

On Spur Tree Hill, she overtook a car that was also going very fast. A few days later, at a party in the city, Mike Henry (now transport minister) approached her and said, "Lady B, you nearly ran me off the road on Spur Tree Hill the other day." She replied, "Oh, that was you, you're damn lucky I never caught you on the level or I would make you feel like you were reversing!"

She spent many holidays and weekends at Couples Resort in St Mary, and also at various SuperClubs properties across the island as a guest of John and Aida Issa. She was also the first single woman to be allowed as a guest at Couples.

Jamaica today

Lady Bustamante loved to drive and was pretty aggressive behind the wheel of this Cadillac that belonged to Sir Alexander Bustamante, or any other car she drove. - Contributed photos

Of the Jamaica that exists today versus the one she knew, the caregivers said Lady Bustamante was not biased politically, she had friends on both sides of the political divide, but she remained proud of the party and the trade union started by her late husband.

Evelyn Sangster-Barnes, who resides overseas, visited her godmother at least four times every year and enjoyed styling Lady B's hair. Many of the elaborate coifs seen in these and other photographs were created by her.