TRIBUTE TO MY FATHER PENNED 12 February 2022

Practically all of my 71 years was spent under my Daddy’s roof. I was blessed to be his only child whose birth he witnessed and from that moment every decision he made was predicated on what was in my best interest. His first decision was to expose me to Biblical principles that would point me in the direction of accepting Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I came to know God was real as a result of the regular family devotions he held with all of his children, sitting around him. He would insist each child read a scripture verse and pray. I struggled with reading and memorizing the scripture verses and he would not move on until I got it right. Later in my life he also encouraged me to preach the gospel by virtue of me being a christain. He stressed a christain is a preacher who tells everyone they meet about the importance of being a child of God. His Church Business Card read “Need Real Life, Come To Christ”.

Daddy’s second fulfillment of his parental role was ensuring I had a good education. His emphasis on education was led by example. In 1961, he had a desire to pastor a church and he prepared himself by enrolling in the Bahamas Baptist Institute to study theology. Around this time, I was not seriously applying myself to my schooling and subsequently did not follow my older sister Marilyn and younger brother Joseph in attending the Government High School. I told him I wanted to attend a private high school and he restored my self esteem by struggling to pay my school fees at the then Bahamas Baptist College. As the Bahamas Baptist Institute and the Bahamas Baptist College were sister Institutions, he was in one classroom studying for his seminary certification and I was in another studying for a high school diploma. I was reluctant to study with him and tried to hide it from my friends that we were in school together.

Daddy’s third contribution to shaping my life manifested in his encouragement to select a meaningful career that would put me in a position to be independent. He told me he did not like how his sisters were treated, therefore I should choose a career that would enable me to take care of myself. He influenced my work ethic through his preparation for work, by the way he dressed, by being on time and by being prepared for the task at hand. In 1968 he commenced work at the Department of Labour and once again we were operating in the same environment, namely the Ministry of Home Affairs. He was a Labour Inspection Officer and I was a Teacher at the then Boys Industrial School.

This Tribute would be voluminous if I were to document the ways my Daddy influenced my civic and social consciousness and responsibilities. I would marvel at his people skills and the long conservations he had with a cross section of persons on topical religious and secular issues. While attending church was given priority, he was also a nation builder through his active membership in the Federation of Labour, Bahama Island Baptist Association, Deep South Cat Island Movement, the Prison Fellowship Board and the Dean Granger Center. I conclude this Tribute noting a copy of the 19th March 2006 Providence Baptist Church Order Of Service written by Daddy which stated “ Let Us Praise And Thank The Lord For His Grace Bestowed Upon Us In Choosing Us A Small Band Of Believers To Show By Exampling The Lord’s Strategy Every Believer’s Mandate To Preach The Gospel Established In The Great Commision, Mathew 28;18-20”. Let Us Demonstrate Our Love By Obedience To Him”.