August 2015 at Tingum Village in Harbour, a smiling Ma Ruby stands with Prime Minister Perry G. Christie.
Mrs. Ruby Percentie, affectionately known as ‘Ma Ruby’, an iconic matriarch within the community of Harbour Island, passed away on Saturday, February 6th, 2016, at the age of 82.
Mrs. Percentie was the owner of Tingum Village, described as Harbour Island’s premier guest house hotel and Ma Ruby’s Restaurant, home of Jimmy Buffet’s original “Cheeseburger in Paradise. Among many other awards and honours over the years, she received the “Living Legend” award by the Zonta Club in 1998, and was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II as a Member of the British Empire in 2006.
One of her daughters, Ms. Juanita Percentie, who worked closely with ‘Ma Ruby’ at the hotel and restaurant, shared that it was a sudden passing for the family, as she had been actively involved in her normal daily routine, before having to be airlifted to New Providence on Saturday afternoon. ‘Ma Ruby’, who was said to have passed away at about 3pm on Saturday, was born on Christmas Day, in December of 1933.
Greeting the British Prince Harry on his visit to Harbour Island in 2012.