In memory of Chriss Brewster

A display during a memorial held yesterday at the University of the Southern Caribbean in Maracas, St Joseph for former student Chriss Brewster who was murdered in October.
A display during a memorial held yesterday at the University of the Southern Caribbean in Maracas, St Joseph for former student Chriss Brewster who was murdered in October.

Friends, family members and schoolmates gathered yesterday to celebrate the life of Chriss Brewster the Dominican national who was murdered on October 30 at her apartment in Maracas/St Joseph, along with her landlord, 88-year-old Peter Felix.

From 10 am, mourners began assembling in the auditorium of the University of the Southern Caribbean in Maracas, St Joseph for the memorial. Some of her former classmates came dressed in clothing which she either designed or altered in tribute to her prowess as a seamstress and fashion designer. “I feel that sometimes when I am in pain, the only thing that could comfort me is worship,” said one of the choir members.

And worship they did. The congregation sang songs of praise before sharing memories of their interactions with Brewster. Not only students gathered at the memorial. Several of the university’s staff attended including vice president Onesi La Fleur and several other administrators who either knew Brewster through classes or through interactions at the school.

“In May this year Chriss walked on this stage with pomp and style,” said one of her lecturers from the school of business. “Smiling Chriss, ready to face the challenges in life. Today we can say she had an untimely passing at the hands of someone who thinks differently to us. We live today among so many individuals and we do not know what they are thinking.”

The administration consoled the students, saying as long they put their faith in the almighty, they would have nothing to fear. In paying tribute to her, friends said she left a trail of influence in the university that could not go unnoticed. They said she was most remembered for her smile and her passion for God and fashion. They described her as a woman of class and character.

“Several times I would compliment her on her attire and she would simply smile and say, ‘thanks, I made it myself.’ She had a great influence in this school, one that will live on,” said a former classmate. Brewster, a 30-year-old mother of two, lived in Trinidad for about five years while studying at the School of Business at USC. A talented designer, she held several fashion shows and was preparing for another to highlight her latest designs when she was killed.

Her throat was slit and her apartment burnt to the ground. Felix, who was also in the house at the time died from smoke inhalation. Brewster’s body was returned to Dominica for burial.

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"In memory of Chriss Brewster"

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