THE late former Progressive Labour Party leader Frederick Wade predicted that his party would face great challenges coming to terms with the responsibilities of Government, according to his widow Ianthia Simmons-Wade.

And if Mr. Wade were alive today, he would have seen the accuracy of his forecast, though he would have been satisfied with the direction the party was headed, she added.

As the PLP prepares to stage a series of events to mark the tenth anniversary of Mr. Wade's death, Mrs. Simmons-Wade said it was important to remember all those who made sacrifices for the good of the island, so young people had role models to aspire to.

She was pleased with the PLP's efforts to commemorate "Freddie" but said there would be mixed feelings for her and her 15-year-old triplets, Frederick, Ceola and Camela, as they were reminded of the void left by the husband and father they had lost.

"People always ask me what he would think today about how the PLP was performing in Government," Mrs. Simmons-Wade, who is the administrator of the Summer Haven home for the physically challenged, said yesterday.

"He knew that when the time came for the PLP to become the Government, it would be extremely challenging for them and it wouldn't happen overnight.

"He said that people would be in roles they had never been in before after all that time in Opposition and there would be a time period before those challenges were met.

"And the Government still faces significant challenges today. But they have a vision and I think people are realising the direction they are taking."

She said Mr. Wade had worked hard towards the goal of single-seat constituencies, in order to give every person's vote an equal value, and to encourage the average person to enjoy greater participation in the running of the country.

Mr. Wade has been widely credited with laying the foundations of the PLP's rise to power at the 1998 General Election.

He became Opposition Leader after the PLP suffered a crushing defeat in the 1985 General Election, when it was left with just seven MPs.

A lawyer, Mr. Wade was regarded as both a unifying and moderating force with a low-key style, who succeeded in transforming the PLP into a party that just missed out on winning the 1993 election, but were finally voted into government five years later, two years after his sudden death at the age of 57.

Mrs. Simmons-Wade said it was important that her late husband's contribution to Bermuda was recognised and remembered and recalled that Mr. Wade himself had feared he would be forgotten. "Freddie said to me that the day will come when people say, 'Freddie Wade, Freddie who'?" she said. "Older people will always remember him, but it's important that young people also have the opportunity to know what this person did.

"He made great sacrifices in his life to improve this country, which he believed could be done through the PLP becoming the Government.

"What happens often in Bermuda is that people get forgotten. But it is important to remember someone like Freddie, who made sacrifices to make this country a better place.

"With what's going on in this country at the moment, younger people need role models, they need someone to look up to."

Following last night's public forum on the life and contribution of Mr. Wade, featuring Premier Alex Scott, Finance Minister Paula Cox and former PLP leader Dame Lois Browne Evans, the PLP will host an open-to-all cocktail reception and exhibition at Alaska Hall this evening, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The celebration of Mr. Wade will continue with a morning service at St. Paul AME Church at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

And the Bermuda Industrial Union will stage the final event, an evening of jazz on Sunday, featuring the group Next Level, and starting at 7.30 p.m. Tickets cost $50 and are available from the PLP headquarters.

Mrs. Simmons-Wade said she intended to attend all the events and added it would be a poignant time.

"It's emotional for me, in the sense that I'm happy they have taken the opportunity to recognise him after ten years, but for me and my children it will bring back to us that we are missing a husband and a father," she said. "So we have mixed feelings.

"For the children, it will probably be more emotional to hear people stand up and talk about their father.

"Over the last ten years, so many people, from all walks of life, have told the children how proud their father would be of them. In that way, their father has always been in their lives.

"I'd like to thank the people of Bermuda for all the kindness they continue to show me and my family."

Books about Mr. Wade will be on sale over the weekend and the organising committee is seeking donations to pay for the inclusion of such books in school libraries.