LONDON, England:
VAL MCCALLA, owner, publisher and founder of the black British newspaper, The Voice, died suddenly on Thursday evening. Family, friends and the many people who knew the 58-year-old McCalla were left in a state of shock.
Shirley McGreal, chief executive at The Voice, told The Weekly Gleaner that Mr. McCalla was in his garden on Thursday afternoon playing with his daughter Natalie, when he complained of not feeling well. He continued to complain and was taken to hospital in Sussex where he died shortly after. Hospital officials said he had an undetected lump in his stomach which ruptured resulting in haemorrhaging.
Mr. McCalla, an accountant by trade, loved horseracing and owned a number of horses. He established The Voice newspaper in 1982 in Hackney East London. He will be fondly remembered by many as a pioneer in the publishing industry, and someone who gave Britain's black community a popular newspaper.
Mr. Oliver Clarke, Chairman and Managing Director of the Gleaner Company Ltd., ex-pressed great sadness at the sudden passing of Mr. McCalla. He said: "Val has been a stalwart in the ethnic newspaper market in Britain. Through the Voice Newspaper, he provided another avenue through which Jamaicans and other West Indians found a means of expressing their views and concerns. He will be missed. Our condolences to his family and friends."
Jamaican-born Mr. McCalla leaves his wife Linda and two daughters, Natalie, 11 and Lauren, 14. He also leaves two sons, Michael and David, from his first marriage, as well as a sister.
