Queenie Hallegua, the last of the Paradesi (foreign) Jewish women in Kochi, India, died on August 11. She was 89. Her funeral was held at the Jewish cemetery near the 456-year-old Paradesi Synagogue.

Her death leaves her nephew, Keith Hallegua, as the last surviving Jew in Kochi.

Queenie was the daughter of Satto Koder. She married into the Hallegua family of what is known as Jew Town. Her grandfather, Shabdai Samuel Koder, was an Iraqi immigrant who settled in Kochi and established the Koder House, an historic three-story building now a four-star hotel.

Queenie was the warden and managing trustee of the Paradesi Synagogue from 2002 to 2018. She was also managing partner of S Koder Pvt Ltd, which owned the local electric company, a boat service to Mattancherry, a textile business, and various other enterprises.