GRANDVILLE, Mich. — The dining room table at Margy Ayuso Westerhof's home looks a little bit like a historical museum right now. It's adorned with tea cups, napkins and plates bearing the United Kingdom's iconic Union Jack, and most importantly, historical documents including invitations from Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.
The invitations, printed on royal stationary, were passed down to Margy and her sister Patty Ayuso Polkowski from their grandfather, Lucilo Prospero Ayuso.
"He was born and lived in British Honduras, which is now Belize," Margy said.
"He was a prominent businessman and had a lot of interest in politics, so he went to King George VI's coronation in 1937, and then he was invited again to Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953."
Belize is part of the Commonwealth of Nations, which is made up of 56 sovereign states that were mostly British colonies at some point in history. Patty interviewed her grandfather in 1980 about how the UK wanted colonies to provide their own people, and Ayuso was happy to do just that.
"He was a justice of the peace. He served on the Jubilee Public Library Committee and the Sugar Control Board. He was a visiting justice to the prisons. In fact, one time our dad say that every Sunday, his dad would go and make sure that the prisoners were treated justly," Patty said.
"He also served on the Factories Appeal Board and acted as a counsel to both Honduras and Panama. So he did a lot of different things."
Getting to the first coronation was a bit of a challenge for Ayuso. It took four days to travel from Belize to Jamaica by boat, and then an additional 11 days to get from Jamaica to England. The second time around was much easier when he was able to fly Pan American Airways from Belize to London.
Before that second visit, Ayuso pleaded with the governor that someone else should get a turn to represent Belize. But the governor insisted that Ayuso go, and Ayuso told his granddaughters it was an honor.
"I think he took it to heart. He really was going to stand for his country and stand up for himself, as their representative," Margy said.
Margy and Patty's mother was American and the family was able to move to the United Sates when Margy and Patty's dad found a job in Omaha, Nebraska. He was later transferred to Grand Rapids which is how the Ayusos ended up in West Michigan.
Seventy years after their grandfather visited London for Queen Elizabeth's coronation, the Ayuso sisters are looking forward to the coronation of King Charles III. And when they tune in on May 6, they will think of their grandfather and his voyages to the UK all those decades ago.
"If our dad were alive today, and here with us, I could hear him saying about his dad, 'Here’s a little Mayan Indian from the jungles of Central America who made it to England for both a king and queen," Patty said.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.