A brilliant mind who taught us to enjoy the simpler pleasures in life
It has been just over one year since we lost my beloved father Bertie Jayasekera. Sri Lanka lost a good son and eminent engineer. Bertie was kind, generous, gentle, witty, fun to be around, and had a brilliant intellect. He was always charitable to family members, friends and strangers alike.
He was modest about his brilliant mind, highly social and loved the company of family and friends. He was impatient but rarely held a grudge. Bertie was a skilled raconteur: he would enthral my friends with his stories of his adventures in the wilds of Kantale with his pet leopard cub, whilst working in the Irrigation Department. Bertie also was light on his feet and a talented dancer, always enjoying listening to his favourite tracks by Trini Lopez and The Rat Pack, Louis Armstrong and classical music.
As a child at Ananda College, Bertie preferred other pursuits to studying: chief amongst his hobbies was the Radio Club. Even when living in Hong Kong, we would find old tin boxes and amplifiers and other radio parts ready for reassembly into a working radio. Despite his playful nature, he would often be top of the class at school.
Following school, Bertie was recruited by the Irrigation Department of Ceylon and was one of the first persons to be offered training under agreement for the Institution of Civil Engineers. By 1959, Bertie decided to go to the UK, enrolling in the now Surrey University. Within two months he had passed his Part 1 of the Institution of Civil Engineers professional exam by self- study and Part II within two years, an admirable feat. He was elected as a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (M. I. C.E.) by 1962. During this time he was working as a Designer Detailer with Nuclear Civil Constructors and later as a Civil Engineer for Mott Macdonald and Partners on reinforced concrete projects for the Tigris river.
1963 saw Bertie’s return to Sri Lanka to work for the State Engineering Corporation. It was here he met Indranee Weeraman and following their marriage, he returned to the UK to work for Maunsell and Partners, in Manchester.
In 1966, Bertie returned to Sri Lanka as a Senior Project Engineer, (Construction) and later Chief Engineer overseeing major projects such as the Puttalam Cement Factory (still standing over 50 years later) and the Hydro Power Station, Polgolla.
1970 saw drastic political change in Sri Lanka, so Bertie returned to UK briefly, before being recruited to work for the Hong Kong Government, Public Works Department. I still admire his sense of adventure and enterprise at exploring and embracing a new culture in Hong Kong. This marked the inception of an illustrious and varied career. In 1977, Bertie was appointed to the New Town Development Department, where some favourite projects of his entire career stemmed. Here, he was recruited to design and build five new towns, housing an incredible 2.3 million people.
His favourite was probably the once sleepy Sha Tin fishing village, where Bertie oversaw the consulting engineers work, checking design, overseeing sewage treatment works and land reclamation projects. By 1982, he was promoted to Chief Engineer for Tuen Mun and in charge of the construction of infrastructure through consultants Scott Wilson and Partners.
Bertie was always able to inspire and help others professionally, acting as a Lead Examiner for the Institution of Civil Engineer, UK, for several years.
In his spare time, Bertie developed an interest in sailing and yachts. In 1981, together with two good friends, he embarked on building a 32-foot sloop out of a lightweight ferro cement called Portland Cement, with a teak and fibreglass deck. “The Boat” was built on a cinnamon estate in Sri Lanka, and after several issues, arrived in Hong Kong. We enjoyed many happy outings plus lots of experience in DIY projects onboard. Bertie was also adept at fixing pretty much anything, and I miss that engineering brain of his.
Bertie retired from the Hong Kong Government in 1994, having been one of the longest serving civil servants, securing a further two year position with Wilbur Smith Associates, this time as a Crown Servant. We left Hong Kong finally in 1996, which was a monumental day for us as a family.
Back in Sri Lanka, Bertie joined the Bureau of Infrastructure as Transport Sector Advisor, until being offered another contract, with Wilbur Smith Associates: this time in Sylhet, Bangladesh on an ADB-funded project of the Jafflong Road.
Upon his return to Sri Lanka, Bertie then embarked on an entirely new pathway as an Adjudicator on a number of road projects between the Sri Lankan Government and various contractors. He sat as a Member and sometimes lead on several local projects including the ADB
Southern Highway, the Rehabilitation and Improvement of the Puttalam/ Mannar Road. He made good friendships with his colleagues. He also acted as an Arbitrator for several projects.
Bertie finally retired in 2016. He was also a committee member of the Sri Lankan Institution of Civil Engineers, a role he enjoyed, as he was always helping other engineers.
By 2018 Bertie’s health started to decline and he suffered cognitive impairment. It was my time to look after him, which I did. This was such a special time for us. We travelled to London and the Far East. Bertie kept up with his base of friends and colleagues worldwide. Covid-19 found us able to spend even more time together, and we kept up our spirits, singing , playing scrabble, drinking cocktails and watching TV. Bertie loved sitting on the verandah of the house, looking at our mango and jak trees and the birds. He never complained about his health, maintaining his gentleness and good humour to the end, passing away on April 2, 2023.
I have been blessed with the most kind, supportive and loving father the universe could bestow. He was a great teacher to both my mother and myself, teaching us to be humble, tolerant, and kind and enjoy the simpler pleasures in life, and always to think intelligently about situations. May the many good deeds Bertie performed in this lifetime be returned to him threefold in blessings as he continues his soul journey and may he attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana.
Bertie is survived by Indranee, his loving wife of 59 years and his daughter Samantha.