Fatherless Father’s Day!

Jun 20, 2016 News

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By Enid Joaquin

 

Reflecting on my own father, whom I lost when I was just 14 years old, and others, who had no father to wish “Happy Father’s Day”, that famous Keith Lynn song,” Empty Chair”, comes to mind.

Though Lynn was certainly not reminiscing about his father, the opening lines are certainly relevant  for those of us that have lost our fathers.

For some of us from the ‘old school’, these lyrics conjure up memories of our lost fathers, and ignite a burning nostalgia of those times that are gone forever. Oh how we wish that our dads could come back, and fill those empty chairs!

No such luck, but the memories live on!

Those fathers will never be around again, to be wished a happy Father’s Day- but their memories live on, as a beacon in the lives of their offspring.

Kaieteur News reminisces with some of the children who can no longer say,” Happy Father’s Day dad!”

 

Delilah Pearson- Forrester.

“I have such good memories of my father (Phillip Pearson), he was so much fun. He was always telling us stories.

He told us stories of Kanaima and Massacurraman, and of his life back when he was living in Essequibo.

He was a great father and a good friend to a lot of people. I clearly remember that at one time, we had almost twenty people living at us- not in the house, but in a logie that daddy had erected in our yard.

All of these men he had brought from Essequibo and other parts of the country to get jobs with the Bauxite Company. Even your own father he brought from the Pomeroon to get a job here.”

Delilah says that her father contributed in a big way in helping to populate the Linden community, especially the areas of Siberien and Old England. In most cases, the men never returned to their villages, but married local girls in the community.

“Daddy was a little man in stature, but he was a big man in everything else. He was a school teacher, qualified surveyor, bush medicine man, hunter and fisherman. He was a good provider and caring man.”

He was the father of thirteen.

Phillip Pearson would have celebrated his hundredth birthday this September.

He died last year.

 

Edgar Gravesande

Edgar Gravesande lived to the ripe old age of 93. He was the well-loved father of ten.

Dead two years now, Gravesande will forever live on in the memories of his children, Grand children and great grand children.

Doting daughter Judy Gravesande Noel had much to say about her dearly beloved Father.

“Edgar Gravesande was a stalwart of a man. He was my hero! He imparted so many values in the lives of his children. I owe everything that I am and stand for, to my father. My mother was there and she certainly did her part in teaching us the finer things in life, but it was my father that instilled strong values in us.”

Noel reminisced on all the things that her father taught them to do- like playing cricket and appreciating good music. He also taught them to dance.

My father was a hard worker and a dedicated family man. He was also a very caring man.”

Like Phillip Pearson, Gravesande brought a lot of persons from outside of Linden to get jobs at the Bauxite company.

Originally from Berbice, quite a few of his country, came to Linden with his help and secured boarding and lodging at his home until they landed a job.

“Today and forever I salute my dad, because he was a great father and grandfather. All the values that my sons now exhibit, they learnt from my father, who had an even more profound impact on their lives than their own father”.

My father taught them to make kites, ride a bike , make scooters and play cricket.”

Noel, once a renowned sportswoman, credits her accomplishments to her father, who she said .supported her every field of endeavor.

He was always there, she says, supporting her as she strove for supremacy in athletics, table tennis,hockey and badminton.

An avid boxing enthusiast, he earned the nickname “Boxer,”and was well loved by many, she proudly asserts.

 

Waneright Hodge

For Waneright (jnr) and Wanette Hodge, this is the first Father’s Day that they have spent without their father, who they lost earlier this year.

Both admitted that they miss him terribly.

Wanette confesses, “He had the qualities that I would love to find in a husband. My father was very kind, extremely protective and caring. If for instance my mom was not feeling well, he would assist her in every way-cook clean, whatever- he would even prepare me for school; the only thing he couldn’t do was plait my hair. But he did everything else.

Son Waneright jnr, admits that his father’s shoes are big ones to fill, as he was a man that embraced good values and taught his children likewise.

‘I most certainly would like to emulate him, because he was a very strict person, but a father who tempered discipline with love.

Their mother, Kim Hodge, agreed wholeheartedly, acknowledging that he was a ‘very good man’, whom she  missed a whole lot, this Father’s Day.

She posited, “Being a father is indeed a blessing, but sadly it sometimes takes their loss for children to fully appreciate their value.”

 

 

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