Wynter YESTERDAY'S SERVICE of thanksgiving for the life of Hector Wynter, former diplomat, politician and Gleaner Editor-in-Chief, was a rich tribute to the many areas of his private life and public service.
Family and friends, representatives from the diplomatic corps, academia, arts and cultural sectors, media, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and People's National Party (PNP), paid and heard his life praised in warm memories and humorous anecdotes.
For a man who smiled frequently, the service filled with laughter was appropriate and the newspaperman in him would have welcomed the prompt start to the ceremony at the Sts. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church on Old Hope Road, St. Andrew.
Yesterday, hundreds of persons from all walks of life gathered to remember him.
They began with a symbolic gesture, handing out white carnation corsages in memory of Mr. Wynter, a nappy dresser who frequently wore a red rose in the lapels of his jackets and who loved beauty contests and cricket.
His casket was also draped with a white pall in memory of his baptismal garment.
Two plus hours later, when the ceremony ended, there was still much to be said about the life of the veteran public servant who wore so many hats and touched lives in so many sectors of society in his 76 years.
But it would have done Mr. Wynter's heart well to hear the retelling of childhood tales such as his walking to school barefoot for the fun of it while growing up in Pisgah, St. Elizabeth.
"His courage was magnificent and The Gleaner emerged freer, stronger with larger circulation than before. When the history of freedom of the press in Jamaica is being written, the name of Hector Wynter must be mentioned," said Leader of the Opposition, Edward Seaga, while giving the remembrance. "His period at The Gleaner was a watershed period for media in Jamaica."
Mr. Seaga drew on a wealth of knowledge from his 60-year association with Mr. Wynter to sum up his life. He described Mr. Wynter as a man whose fortitude, honesty, loyalty and pursuit of scholarship earmarked his life and resulted in a man who "walked with kings but never lost the common touch."
He hailed Mr. Wynter as a man whose "eloquence and encyclopaedic knowledge" made him a success and who, because he had an impact on so many lives while serving as a diplomat at UNESCO and even as Registrar at the University of the West Indies, was fondly greeted by graduates who remembered his guidance in earlier years.
"He kept friends on all sides of the political divide and was regarded, by many, as the doyen of Jamaican diplomats. To an innings well played, a life well lived, a citizen with honour and a human being who gave his all, Jamaica will miss him," he told the packed to overflowing church.
Mr. Wynter's brother, Basil, sent ripples of laughter through the mourners as he recounted Mr. Wynter's childhood before moving on to point out his impact in shaping major moments such as Jamaica's inviting Martin Luther King Jnr. to Jamaica and advising late former Prime Ministers Sir Alexander Bustamante and Sir Donald Sangster on foreign relations matters.
"He picked up friends and went along (but) for me, as a child, he was a father. He was a brother. He was a friend," Basil Wynter said, adding that he would love to write on his brother's tombstone, "Here lies an honest politician, who lived richly but died poor as far as monetary wealth was concerned and I bet you no one would think this is strange."
Not to be outdone, his children and lodge colleagues honoured him with songs, recalling his tireless work on various projects without seeking reward or honour. Colleagues also remembered him for his "biting wit" and his "flair for words", shown in his use of poets, great writers and philosophers when expressing himself or making announcements during the lodge society's meetings.
Mr. Wynter, who was also a Senator, educator and chairman of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), died on December 31 in the University Hospital of the West Indies, Mona. He had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit on December 27, after being injured seriously in a traffic accident in the Liguanea area of St. Andrew.
He leaves behind his wife Diana, six children, brothers and sisters and other relatives. His body will be cremated.
