Appreciations

Flower Munasinghe, a lady of great elegance, erudition and beauty passed away peacefully at age 89. She had shown much promise from an early age at Ladies College especially in Mathematics. Flower set her sights on emulating her father, Dr. Claude Wickremasinghe - a renowned doctor who had won the gold medal at the Medical College. However, fate intervened cruelly, when she lost her father at age 14. It was a bitter blow, but Flower set about helping her mother Irene to bring up three younger siblings (Alistair, Swarna and Charmanie).

When she was 17, Flower married Peter Munasinghe, who was a gentle husband and wonderful father. Setting aside her medical ambitions, she devoted herself to family life, bringing up four gifted children - Srimal, Neela, Rukmani and Mohan. An extremely talented lady, Flower also turned her attention to other fields, giving many piano recitals and concerts, serving as President of the well-known Women's International Club, becoming founder-President of the Ladies Kennel Association, and writing short stories.

After her beloved husband of 47 years passed away in 1983, Flower bravely carried on. Loved and revered by her children, 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren (but never dependent on them), she maintained her own household until the very end. In her 70s, she was a familiar sight, driving her little car to visit children and friends. In 1988, at age 80, she won the Sri Lanka State Literary Award for her first book of short stories, which was also shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize. She published a second book when she was 84 years old, and was working on another until recently!

While her husband and four talented children were her joy and delight, Flower also had a strong urge to serve her community. She travelled widely overseas and lived in the USA for many years, where she worked with the American Association of Retired Persons. On returning to Sri Lanka, Flower consulted her friend Mrs. Sita Seneviratne (President of the Ceylon Social Service League, an approved charity), and set up a project for senior citizens in Sri Lanka.

She found a group of dedicated women who were enthused by her dream. Not wasting time, she approached the Vicar of St. Paul's Milagiriya and effectively set out her ideas of a Senior Citizens’ Association to meet regularly in the Milagiriya Hall. Her drive and enthusiasm prevailed, and soon she found a small nucleus of persons who attended the inaugural meeting. Despite some early doubts, the hall at Milagiriya soon reverberated with the laughter and chatter of the seniors. They seemed to have shed years, simply by having contact with others of their age group.

Flower's success with her first club made her approach friends in Kandy and Nawala, encouraging small groups in each locality to accede to her request to set up similar senior citizens' groups. Soon the clubs in Kandy and Nawala also flourished. As Flower saw her efforts proving so worthwhile, she aspired further to have a place the Association could call its very own – where members could drop in at will to relax. With characteristic foresight, she set up a Building Fund, which has made steady progress. However, with land prices in Colombo rising, hopes of realizing Flower's dream could not be realized in her lifetime. It would be a worthy tribute to her memory, if more public spirited persons could contribute to achieve this goal.

We, the members of The Sri Lanka Association of Senior Citizens owe Flower, our Patroness, a great debt of gratitude. She made us flower from inertness to activeness. The lonely and not so lonely will always remember her with love and affection. Members of the Sri Lanka Association of Senior Citizens of Colombo, Kandy and Nawala