Sir Edney Cain, veteran public servant, dead at 84

The grave situation of Andy Palacio is not the only tragedy to strike a highly respected Belizean. Career public officer Sir Henry Edney Cain has died following a prolonged battle with cancer. He was eighty-four years old. According to family members, Sir Edney had been suffering from cancer for the past eight years but went into a coma this week and died at his home in Belmopan on Thursday night. Cain joined the government service as a messenger in 1940 but following the successful pursuit of a degree in corporate accounting, he eventually rose to the post of Accountant General and in 1983 became the first Governor of the Central Bank. His career branched into diplomacy in 1984 when sir Edney was appointed Belize’s first resident ambassador to the United States and later served as high commissioner to the United Kingdom. In between those postings he returned home to Belmopan as Financial Secretary. He was knighted in 1986. Sir Edney is survived by his wife, Lady Leonie Cain, daughters Sharon and Maria and numerous family members. An official funeral for Sir Edney is being organised by the Government of Belize with services scheduled for two on Tuesday afternoon at the Wesley Methodist Church. Sir Edney Cain, dead at eighty-four.