Enid Louise Golding, the mother of Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, died this week at age 91.

Dr Trevor Golding, the eldest of her three children said his mother died from pneumonia.

An educator who taught at the elementary and high school levels, Enid Golding was the widow of Tacius Golding, a member of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and former speaker of the House of Representatives.

Trevor Golding remembered his mother as an “unsung hero” and a “genius at parenting”.

He added: “Because my father was in politics, he was always on the hustings. She had to nurture myself and my brothers by herself. She was a great motivator and disciplinarian.”

The governing JLP, which Prime Minister Golding leads, expressed condolences to his family in a statement. The release hailed its matriarch as a “strong, benevolent educator and role model”.

Portia Simpson Miller, leader of the Opposition People’s National Party, said in a statement that she had spoken to the prime minister and conveyed condolences on behalf of her party.

Born Enid Bent in Southfield, St Elizabeth, Enid Golding was a graduate of the Shortwood Teachers’ College in St Andrew. Her first three teaching assignments were Smithfield, Ginger Ridge and Watermount elementary schools.  While teaching at Ginger Ridge, she met Tacius Golding, who was the school headmaster.

They married in 1943 and had three sons: Trevor, Orette Bruce and Douglas Anthony. A daughter died in infancy.

Mrs Golding also taught at Alpha Academy, St Andrew High School and was the first principal at Old Harbour Junior Secondary, which opened in 1960.

She co-authored two books with her older brother, Rupert Bent. The textbooks were on Caribbean geography and history and were used for several years as part of the high-school curriculum.

Enid Louise Golding is also survived by eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.