A sweet voice which served as a beacon of light for generations of Bermudians was silenced last week with the sudden death of Ismay Philip.

Premier Alex Scott and Labour and Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton will be joining countless others today as they pay their tributes at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Philip?s homegoing service at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity.

The wife of 57 years of journalist and former Senator Ira Philip and the mother of seven, Mrs. Philip (nee Ismay Louise Jones) will be remembered best as the soaring mezzo-soprano who gave voice to the joy of so many weddings and brought comfort to the mourning at generations of funerals. Mrs. Philip died of a brain aneurysm on Friday one week after her 77th birthday. But almost right up until her death Mrs. Philip, a grandmother to 19, continued to touch lives through song.

?She always used to say that as long as I have breath I?m going to sing. And that was literally the truth,? her husband told yesterday. ?Her last presentation was an impromptu performance on board an annual seniors cruise hosted by the Bermuda Government.?

As the cruise coincided with her 77th birthday, the MC asked Mrs. Philip to come forward to receive a gift. When the crowd requested to sing ?Happy Birthday? to her, Mrs. Philip declined.

?She said that she wanted to sing for them,? Mr. Philip said. And that she did, stirring the crowd with what would be her last song: ?To God be the Glory?.

Born in Pembroke on August 19, 1927 to the late Clara Grant and Henry Jones, Mrs. Philip moved to her long-time home of Somerset when she was seven.

It was at the Allen Temple AME Church that Mrs. Philip cultivated her talents as a soloist from an early age.

Allen Temple was also the setting of another important development: The budding romance between Mrs. Philip and fellow parishioner Ira Philip, who was three years her senior and a young reporter at that time.

After a lengthy courtship the two were wed at Allen Temple on June 24, 1948. The couple would eventually welcome seven children into their Bob?s Valley Home. An ever-present support to her husband and her seven children, Mrs. Philip in her own right was a non-stop worker. She financially supported her children through university by singing professionally for several years. But with a strong entrepreneurial spirit she also oversaw several business ventures.

Mrs. Philip spread her joyful voice throughout the world, performing at the consecration of Detroit?s famous Cobo Hall and partaking in concerts in several US cities as well as Toronto and London.

?She was a humble woman and widely esteemed,? her husband said. ?I think that my wife?s last few days were her happiest. I never saw her happier then she was in the last six weeks,? he said.