Adena “Dorothy” Industrious Harrigan passed away on September 13, 2022, in Nadir, St. Thomas, at the age of 88.
Adena was born on January 6, 1934, to Carmelita Hodge (1900-2003) and James Industrious (1894-1963) on the beautiful island of Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Her mother told her she was actually born at home on January 4th, but her birth was not registered with the government in Road Town, Tortola until the 6th. Her maternal grandparents were Catherine Jurgensen (1855-1960) and John Charles Hodge (1864-1904). Her grandmother Catherine Jurgensen, a mid-wife, was born on the island of St. John during the Danish rule of the Danish West Indies in the mid-1850s. Catherine Jurgensen’s great-great-grandfather was a white Dane from Denmark who owned slaves in the Danish West Indies. Adena’s great grandmother was Johnto Hodge. Johnto had two sons and one daughter between 1864 and 1870. The name of her paternal grandmother was Tilla Henley. Adena didn’t know her paternal grandfather who is said to have died before she was born.
Her grandfather John Charles Hodge (1864-1904) was a native of Tortola. He passed away at the early age of 39 in the British Virgin Islands. He had a half-brother, James Henry Hodge, born in 1868 and a half sister named Ann Eliza Hodge, born in 1870. Her mother, affectionately known as “Tan Tan”, had a sister that is said to have died on the Titanic ship in 1912. Nevertheless, it was the periods of drought during the 1680s which left conditions so poor that many Anguillans migrated to the islands of St. Croix and the British Virgin Islands in 1694. Families of Hodge, Gumbs, Richardson, Bryan, Vanterpool, Fleming, and others migrated to the Danish West Indies and Tortola, the British West Indies during the 1700s.
Adena had five brothers, six sisters, and two infant siblings who preceded her in death. She loved school, with Math being her favorite subject. She went to school at the Cane Garden Bay Methodist Church from grades 1 to 4. After 4th grade, her mother took her out of school to care for Almando, her sister Alma’s son. She talked about how she used to attend school barefoot sometimes, which was common in those days, among school children.
In those days, many people in Tortola were financially poor, but rich in land, which her parents had. According to Adena’s sister, the late Eldra Industrious Semper, lands were passed down from their great, great-grandmother who was a slave. Aunt Eldra said the land was supposed to remain in the family. Adena’s father James Industrious, better known as “Jimmy or Dosull” (1894-1963), was a farmer, fisherman, butcher, and businessman. He sold his ground provisions, fruits, and meat locally in Tortola. He sold goods on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands at the Tortola wharf, and to the Virgin Isle Hotel in St. Thomas. Adena’s father also sailed to other Caribbean islands such as Jamaica and Dominican Republic to cut cane at times to make enough money to support his family. There are Industrious family roots in the Dominican Republic, who still live on the island of Hispaniola today.
Carmelita Industrious, Adena’s mother, was a homemaker and businesswoman. To help support her family, she sold all types of delicious baked goods made in her brick oven and traveled miles away from home to sell in such places as Mars Hill, Sea Cows Bay, Carrot Bay, Apple Bay, and other areas throughout the island of Tortola. Carmelita was a disciplinarian and helped raise some of her grandchildren. Another attribute of Adena’s mother was her big heart. Carmelita was always willing to help friends, family, strangers, and her neighbors who were in need. This kindness of helping people also became an attribute of Adena’s life.
Adena’s mother, Carmelita, went to Danish schools (formerly Abraham Lincoln School) on St. Thomas and completed the highest standard at that time in the Danish educational system. Carmelita was a very spiritually minded person and believed God helps those who helped themselves. Oftentimes, you would hear her mother singing while making baked goods or washing dishes. She would say, “the slaves used to sing in the fields, and she continued it.” Carmelita was a storyteller. She spoke of growing up in the Danish West Indies and Tortola, the British West Indies. Her mother would talk about how she used to ride the donkey to Road Town to pay land tax and purchase items for her home. One story she would share was when she witnessed the transfer of the Danish West Indies to American possession in 1917. She recalled when the Danish flag came down and the American flag went up. She would say, “You know what you have, but you don’t know what you are getting.”
Like her mother, Adena would tell stories of how she and her siblings worked hard helping their parents on the farm or whatever task they had to do. She told childhood stories of how she walked from Cane Garden Bay to Road Town Tortola, which is many miles and over hills. Along the way, she and her siblings would pick fruits and have fun as they traveled to Road Town, Tortola. According to Adena, her parents’ home was the first house in Cane Garden Bay to have on a galvanized roof. It was a wooden house looking over the bay. The kitchen was separated from the main house. It was not unusual for main houses to be separated from the kitchen at that time. This practice was a tradition which extended from slavery throughout the Caribbean region. The kitchen floor was dirt. Dishes were hung on the wooden or galvanized walls of the kitchen. The stove was a coal pot. The toilet was also separated from the main house. This humble way of living was common when Adena was growing up. There was no electricity, so oil lamps were the main source of light at night.
Adena said she was a little girl when the Great Depression occurred, which was a severe worldwide economic downturn that took place during the 1930s. Although it was an economic depression, Adena remembered that her parents had plenty of food to eat because her father was a farmer. However, items such as cornmeal, rice, flour, and butter were rare to come by during the Great Depression. She said these items were imported to the island. She also said, she had a good childhood, although her parents were not materially wealthy. Her father’s transportation was his mule and a donkey, which transported his products from his farm. Adena and her siblings had to work around the house as well as help on their parent’s farm.
When Adena was about 14 years old, she moved to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands for employment. Her first job was as a housekeeper for Mr. Blyden who owned a grocery store on Garden Street. She also worked for Mrs. Bachelor and later for Judge Christian as a live-in housekeeper. She said she asked Judge Christian for a letter of employment so she could apply to be a U.S. Citizen. He refused, so she went to work for Mr. Shulterbrandt as a housekeeper. Mr. Shulterbrandt also owned a grocery store. He and his wife were elderly, and his wife died during the time Adena worked there. She traveled to the U.S. Embassy in Barbados to secure citizenship. Mr. Shulterbrandt gave her a letter of employment to prove she had a job and therefore would not be a burden on the government. She also worked for the Lockharts as a housekeeper. She said the Lockharts wouldn’t allow her to eat in the house, so she had to eat outside. According to Adena, she felt that she was treated like a slave.
After becoming a U.S. citizen, Adena worked assembling watches for the Watch Factory and ironing clothes for a laundry where she was paid by the piece. Her good friend Ida Foy, a cook, then helped her to get a job at Sebastian’s Restaurant where she prepared salads.
Adena had one child with Lionel Davis Sr. and three children with her husband Huston Harrigan Sr. Adena met her husband one day while delivering a package to Aubrey Hill. At that time Huston and his cousin Aubrey lived on Waterfront in St. Thomas in the area where the amusement rides and booths are set up during Carnival. He began a conversation and asked if he could walk her back to her home. She lived in a one room house in Savan, the site where “free colors” and slaves lived during the 1700s. Adena and Huston were married 1958. After marrying, they began their family. They rented a two-room wooded house (rowhouse) in Vester Gade in Savan. They both worked and saved their money. Eventually, they bought land in Savan in an area known as Agnes Fancy #10. They bought and renovated a three-bedroom stone and wall house with a big porch that looked out to the beautiful harbor of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Later, they built another concrete house with two rental apartments downstairs, while the family lived upstairs. After this period her husband asked her to stay at home to raise their children, so she stopped working outside of the home.
A few years later, Adena and her husband built two additional rental apartments east of the main house. Around 1982, the main home was destroyed by fire while she was in a hospital in Puerto Rico. When she returned to St. Thomas, Adena was told her home was destroyed by fire. She said, “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” Adena and Huston then decided to build a new home in the country on St. Thomas. The new house was located at Nadir Estate #7 where she resided for the rest of her life. Sadly, in 1998, her husband, Huston Harrigan Sr., passed away at the young age of 62.
Adena became an entrepreneur. She managed the apartments including making repairs and all the necessary property management tasks. Her tenants loved her. In fact, there were tenants who stayed in her houses and apartments for generations. The tenants spoke about Adena being a loving and caring person as a landlord. She was so loving to her tenants that in December she wouldn’t charge them rent. She said, it is the Christmas season and many of her tenants needed to send money “down island” to their families to help them out.
During Thanksgiving Day, Adena would “cook up a storm” and invite family and friends to celebrate with her family and give thanks to the Lord for all his blessings. Friends and families would gather at Adena’s home to eat, laugh, play games, and just have good clean fun with one another. As she began to get older, the celebration of Christmas Day took place at the home of her son Huston Jr. It became a tradition that Thanksgiving Day was celebrated at our mother’s home, and Christmas Day at his home. Sometimes the family and friends would also go to the beach on Christmas Day.
Adena was a very religious person. Every morning, around 4 or 5 when the roosters are crowing, she could be heard praying. Sometimes, it seemed like she would pray for hours. This was her lifestyle, and she was a woman of faith that moves mountains. She taught her children to read the Bible every morning and evening before they went to bed, especially the Psalms in the Bible. In fact, her children had to recite Psalms such as Psalms 91. She expected all her children to know the Psalms during family worship. She said the practice she had of praying and reading the Bible was passed down by her mother. As a result, she taught her children to do likewise. Adena was a member of the New Testament Church of God in the Savan area and later the Mount Zion New Testament Church of God in Anna’s Retreat. She and her children attended church regularly several times a week. She always read the Bible and believed giving tithes to God which would result in blessings for her family.
Adena was also a philanthropist, counselor, and humanitarian. She helped thousands of people around the world through charity during her lifetime. One of the many organizations she assisted was the Mercy Ships which is an international charity that operates the largest non-government hospital ships in the world. Her donations supported humanitarian aid like free healthcare, community health education, community development, mental health, agriculture projects, and palliative care for terminally ill patients. She always wanted to travel to other countries to do missionary work, but because she had four children, she decided to send money to help, which she believed was doing God’s work.
As a philanthropist, she helped people financially to start their own business. She gave money to her church to help start a school. She assisted her sisters and brothers financially as well as her children and grandchildren in college. She strongly believed in a good education because she herself didn’t have that opportunity. She was quick to tell you her mother took her out of school at a young age to help raise her sister’s child. She said her grandmother Catherine Jurgensen stressed the importance of educational. That’s why, she tried to instill the importance of a good education in her children and grandchildren. She was a mother that would encourage her children, grandchildren, friends, and family to not give up in life. “Trust God” she said, “and he will make a way out of no way.”
Adena was a mother that would call to see how her family members were doing. She would visit family and friends in the hospital, in their homes, and pray with them. She was the kind of person that loved people and tried to help them in any way possible. She was good at managing finances and didn’t like to owe other people. She believed that being in debt is a sin. She would tell you to save some money for a raining day.
Although we will miss her, we are grateful for all the years we had together. Adena said not to cry for her when she died because she looked forward to seeing her Lord Jesus Christ, her husband, parents, and brothers and sisters who died before her. One thing she always said was she wanted all of her family to be saved because she wanted to see all of them in heaven. She touched our lives in many ways and will remain in the hearts of her family and friends forever.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 14 at the Blyden Memorial Chapel on St. Thomas, with viewing at 9 a.m. and the service at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at Western Cemetery #1.
To see the livestream of the funeral service, click this link to join the Zoom Meeting at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 14. (Meeting ID: 864 5501 1910 Passcode: 199376)
Adena was preceded in death by her mother, Carmelita “Tan Tan” Hodge Industrious George; father, James “Dosull” Industrious; husband, Huston Harrigan Sr.; sisters Christophenia “Chrissy” Jackson, Viola Thomas Blyden, Idalia “Dally” Industrious Van Holten, Alma Constatina Industrious Estrada, and Eldra Industrious Semper; brothers Richard Ernest Industrious, Thomas Wellington Industrious, Johnathan Able “Donald” Industrious, and Louis Emanuel Industrious; and special friend Ann Frances Peters.
She is survived by her daughter, Sheryl D. Harrigan; sons Kenneth Olasee Davis, Huston Harrigan Jr., and Dale Harrigan; daughters-in-law Sandra Suarez Davis, Judith Gordon Harrigan, and Amy Jones Harrigan; grandchildren Shenelle Donovan Lewis, Olessa Davis Fleury, Omar Davis, Jonathan Harrigan, Jazziel Harrigan, Hadiya Harrigan, and Hasani Harrigan; great-grandchildren Olan Davis, Olivia Davis, Joshua Lewis, and Juss Fleury; sister Thelma Industrious Todman; brother Bishop William Alfred Industrious; sisters-in-law Eunice Henley Industrious, Pearla Penn Industrious, and Joel “Lynette” Harrigan Benjamin; brother-in-law Auckland Semper Sr.; nieces and nephews (Eldra) Alvin Semper Jr, Robert Semper, (Thelma) Zera Todman Harden, Carol Todman Partridge, Debbie Todman, and Alton Todman; (Jonathan) Carmen Industrious, Candace Industrious, Elma Industrious, Claudia Industrious, Irma Industrious Taubitz, (Wellington) Jacqueline Industrious Barnett, Carolyn Industrious Guishard, Kelvin Industrious, and Malvin Industrious; (Louis) Claudette Industrious White, Merle Sasso Herbert, Myrna P.V. George, Clacier Industrious, Claris Industrious, Louis Industrious Jr., Edwin Clark, (William) Julian Industrious Sr., Russell Industrious Sr., Sonia Faye, Rehenia “Girlie” Industrious Davis, Melva Pickering, Bridget Industrious Dorsey, Gene Industrious Sr., (Richard) Judith Industrious, Gerald “Jerry” Industrious, Myrna Industrious, and Shirlene “Rosie” Industrious; (Alma) Antonio “Tony” Estrada, Lydia Estrada, Valencia “Lindsey” Estrada, Almando Van Holten, Alvin Newton, Alfonso Estrada, and Eugenio Estrada; (Idalia) Esau Van Holten, Willa Van Holten, Lottie Van Holten Lockhart, Alicia Van Holten Moolenaar, and George Van Holten; (Christophenia) Patricia A. Brown, Albert Jurgen, Raymond Patterson, and Hugo “Tony” George; (Viola) Marion Williams Hall, Uldrine Williams, Joycelyn Williams Stoutt, Patricia Williams Hodge, Dioniso “Ras” Blyden, and Ellis Blyden; and special friends Hyacinth “Sis. Prince” Thomas, and Pastor Miller.
Pallbearers will be Jonathan Harrigan, Jaaziel Harrigan, Hasani Harrigan, Omar Davis, Milton Smith, and Derek Van Holten.
Honorable pallbearers are Dale Harrigan, Huston Harrigan Jr., Olasee Kenneth Davis, Antonio Estrada, Russell Industrious, Auckland Semper Jr., and Robert Semper.
