IAN MCDONALD Ramsay, Q.C., one of the most distinguished lawyers in Jamaica and the Caribbean, has been rewarded with the national honour of the Order of Jamaica (O.J.), the nation's fourth highest.
Jamaica House announced yesterday that the Governor-General had bestowed the honour on him on Monday, in recognition of his contribution to the development of law in Jamaica and for his outstanding public service.
Mr. Ramsay, who turned 72 on June 2, has been ailing for several weeks and Sir Howard Cooke, the Governor-General, is to present him with the insignia of his award later, at a private ceremony.
And yesterday afternoon the Advocates' Association of Jamaica paid special tribute to Mr. Ramsay who was its first president. The association lauded him as "the advocates' advocate".
In a warm and moving ceremony in the intimacy of his living room, Norma Linton, Q.C., president of the association, and George Soutar, vice-president, read jointly a citation to Mr. Ramsay, which brought tears to the eyes of his wife, Rosa, who received it for him, and made Eric, their son, a medical specialist who practises in Michigan, US, reflective. Also at the informal ceremony were Howard Hamilton, Q.C., the Public Defender, who practised from Mr. Ramsay's chambers for several years, and attorney-at-law Jacqueline Samuels-Brown.
