Black Immigrant Daily News
The year 2022 brought some people grief as they said a final farewell to loved ones due to natural and unnatural causes.
Every life is precious and our heart goes out to the family and friends who have been left to mourn their loss.
Here are some of the well-known Barbadians who passed away this year:
May
On May 25, Barbados lost a very well-known and loved voice.
Joseph ‘Johnny’ Tudor III passed away.
Father, brother, uncle, husband, businessman, former parliamentarian, and more recently reverend, were some of the titles that he carried during his 73 years. His name was well-known, but so was his voice as many knew him in his capacity as the once Brand Manager for BMW and Mini.
June
A man of creative words, literary icon and Barbadian George Lamming died at the age of 94 years old.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley was making plans to visit him for his 95th birthday when he passed away just days before the milestone. In her penned tribute, it said, “George Lamming, must be considered one of the most famous writers this region has produced…
“George Lamming was the quintessential Bajan, born in as traditional a district as you can get — Carrington Village, on the outskirts of Bridgetown. And his education was as authentically Bajan as one could possibly acquire — Roebuck Boys’ School and Combermere…
“But as Bajan as he was, he still distinguished himself as a world scholar: teaching first at a boarding school in Trinidad.” He was also writer-in-residence and lecturer in the Creative Arts at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies, Visiting Professor at the University of Texas, the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University, and a lecturer in Denmark, Tanzania and Australia.
“Wherever George Lamming went, he epitomized that voice and spirit that screamed Barbados and Caribbean. And while he has written several novels and received many accolades, none of his works touches the Barbadian psyche like his first — In The Castle of My Skin, written back in 1953, but which today ought still to be required reading for every Caribbean boy and girl.”
Lamming was included in The PressEnterprise Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2022 article. His entry stated, “George Lamming, 94. A giant of post-colonial literature whose novels, essays and speeches influenced readers and peers in his native Barbados and around the world. June 4.”
July
Former parliamentarian and renowned attorney-at-law Ezra Alleyne died.
He was a pillar in the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). He served as Deputy Speaker of the House from 1967-1968 and as a Member of Parliament for St Michael North West from 1976 to 1981.
He was 78 years old at the time of his passing.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley called him “a dear friend” and in her tribute wrote, “Until the very end, he remained a strong supporter of fairness within our parliamentary system.” And as a lawyer, who also lectured and mentored many young lawyers, she added, “But Ezra’s love for matters of politics never dulled his passion to defend his clients, whether in the criminal or civil court. Particularly in the area of defamation, he distinguished himself working on behalf of members of the media.”
August
Advocate and president of the Barbados Cancer Society (BCS), Dorothy Cooke-Johnson has passed away.
The longstanding chair and activist, who worked diligently to raise awareness of all cancers, was a beacon of hope for many.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley described her as “a true Barbadian hero”.
Cooke-Johnson’s friend Sir Henry Fraser told Loop, “She has done yeoman service. She’s been passionate about cancer because it may not be generally known, but her husband had died of cancer and she took it on. She has a scientific background, Dr Cooke-Johnson, which although not a medic, made her someone with an understanding of medical things… Dorothy had a very sound scientific basis to what she did and she had a passionate, personal, humanitarian approach to what she did.”
September
Dr Lowe served as the Democratic Labour Party representative for Christ Church East after winning the seat in the 2008 general election.
At the time of his passing it was alleged that he was working on a memoir entitled – The Journey.
Lowe was afforded an Official Funeral.
November
Former Barbados and West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman David Murray has died at the age of 72. He was the son of the late great cricketer, Sir Everton Weekes. He reportedly collapsed on November 25.
December
Former member of Parliament for Christ Church East, Wendell Callender, has died.
He also served as Deputy Principal of Cooperative High School and Principal of Caribbean Training Institute.
His death was confirmed by his wife, Margot Durant-Callender, on December 4, 2022.
On December 16, Barbadian calypso icon Singing Francine died.
Christened Francine Edwards, she died after suffering her second heart attack. She was in Queens, New York, where she resided.
She is survived by her daughter Shirley Cumberbatch, who tearly told another section of the media, that her mum passed away on her grand-daughter’s birthday.
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