Mrs. Cynthia Olita Eledu, 81, longtime resident of Brighton, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and recent resident of Nashua, New Hampshire, USA passed away on July 14th, 2026, after a period of declining health.

Cynthia was born in Cedars, St. Vincent and the Grenadines on August 7th, 1944, to the late Horbon and Edith (Duncan) Joseph. Cynthia was the beloved daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and their 1st born of 13 children. At the age of 5, the Joseph family emigrated to Aruba where she spent her childhood years. To her siblings, Cynthia was known as a uniter, a peacemaker, a storyteller, a big sister, and above all a strong woman who loved all her family very much and would move heaven and earth to support them. Cynthia left Aruba at 18, for the Netherlands, to study Nursing and Midwifery. She then worked as a Midwife and Health Visitor in Lewisham Hospital Slough SE4 London, UK. She would be “on call” riding her bicycle to deliver babies at all hours of the day and night through all types of weather. It was in Slough where she met Mr. Smart Eledu, fell in love and got married. Later, they moved to Manchester, UK and had their daughter, Okozieyin (Kozi). In the early 1970s, they moved to Nigeria. While there, Cynthia studied to receive her Masters in Education and became a professor at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital teaching student nurses. Eventually, she went on to get her Masters in Public Health (MPH) at the University of Liverpool in the UK.

After attaining her MPH, Cynthia worked as a Country Program Director for the World Health Organization, specifically, on HIV/AIDS. She later worked with UNAIDS which focused on HIV Education and AIDs Prevention and Cure. In her role, she oversaw national and regional public health strategies coordinating and managing multimillion-dollar budgets with the various country governments. Cynthia travelled extensively, living all over the world, working to build up the country programs. While working at UNAIDS, she was seconded to CARICOM to work on HIV/AIDS programs in the Caribbean.

When she retired, she became very involved as a volunteer at the Diocese of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. She was an active member of the Cathedral of the Assumption Parish in Kingstown. Cynthia was strong in her Catholic faith and never wavered from it.

In her free time, Cynthia enjoyed gardening, reading, swimming, baking, cooking, jarring jam and making wine, entertaining, sewing, dancing, and traveling. She was very social and was a polyglot fluent in Papiamento, Dutch, German, Spanish, French, Swahili, Hausa, and English.

Besides her parents, Cynthia was predeceased by her brothers, Mr. Goff Joseph, Mr. Sunney Joseph, and her brothers-in-law, Mr. Bertis Murray and Mr. Elmer Polonia.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Mr. Smart Eledu of Brighton, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; her daughter, Kozi Eledu-Allen of Nashua, New Hampshire, USA and her three cherished grandchildren Jazmine Allen, Jardine Allen, and Jeremy Allen all of Nashua, New Hampshire, USA. She is also survived by Mrs. Leo Adeyina (sister) and Dr. Kola Adeyina (brother-in-law) of Faquay Varina, North Carolina, USA; Mr. Avro Joseph (brother) and Mrs. Monica Joseph (sister-in-law) of San Nicolaas, Aruba; Ms. Jardine Thomas (sister) of Stowmarket, UK; Ms. Clayo Joseph (sister) of San Nicolaas, Aruba; Mr. Raymon Joseph (brother) of Philipsburg, Saint Maarten; Mrs. Theresita Polonia (sister) of San Nicolaas, Aruba; Mrs. Norma Murray (sister) of San Nicolaas, Aruba; Mr. Johnny Joseph (brother) of San Nicolaas, Aruba; Mrs. Ivonne Joseph Richardson (sister) and Mr. Orville Richardson (brother-in-law) of Philipsburg, Saint Maarten; Mr. Glen Joseph (brother) and Mrs. Elizabeth Joseph (sister-in-law) of San Nicolaas, Aruba; and numerous nieces, nephews, and close family and friends from all around the world.

Visitation will be held at the Rivet Funeral, 425 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, NH on July 25th, 2026 from 9 - 11 AM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. John Neumann Church, 708 Milford Road, Merrimack NH on July 25th, 2026 at 12 noon with burial to follow at Edgewood Cemetery in Nashua, NH.