Special Family Tributes

Ingrid Mclaren (dr), Cousin

“I fall asleep in the full and certain hope that my slumber shall not be broken; and that, though I be all-forgetting, yet I shall not be all-forgotten, but continue that life in the thoughts and deeds of those I have loved.” -Samuel Butler

The Hon. Easton Wentworth Xavier Douglas-oj., CD., JP., MSC., FRICS WAS for us the Members of his family simply…….‘ easton’ or ‘Uncle Easton’.

For us he was Friend, Role Model, Embodiment of someone who kept his feet on the ground while reaching for the stars; the Keeper of family annals of lived experiences, of unforgettable moments, and life changing events; the Link in the chain of memory between generations past, present and future …………… . He was not just the offspring of Papa D and Aunt Edith ; the brother of Conrad and Effie etc. He was the family’s; he was ours; he was our boy. He belonged to us. We claimed him; we ‘owned’ him. And we loved him dearly.

My earliest memory of Uncle Easton (later called ‘Easton’ by us the younger ones, just because…) was of him sitting on our verandah evening after evening in full khaki with my parents, pouring over what seemed like hundreds of papers filled with strange looking symbols. I later learned that they were coaching him in Math because he was about to take a ‘big’ Exam the result of which would hopefully enable him to gain a scholarship to pursue further study in the UK.

He was of course successful in winning the scholarship and this enabled admission into the University of London, College of Estate Management where he earned a first degree in this area. So outstanding was his performance that he was offered a scholarship to pursue the M.SC. in Urban Planning, University of Reading, where he again excelled. He became an Associate of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (ARCIS) and was later elevated to fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (FRCIS) because of the outstanding quality of his work and professionalism in this area. I remember how proud the family was when he returned from the UK with his Masters Degree and his subsequent climb up the ladder of success. I also remember that he was instrumental in enabling my cousin and myself to gain our first summer job at the Town Planning Department. He was the Star of the family –living proof of what hard work, perseverance and Family support could accomplish. Our joy over his accomplishments was a collective one as each of the elders had in some way played a role in his “coming out’’. And yet… the family’s true joy lay in Easton’s gracious, heartfelt acknowledgement of the role each family member had played in his success, a role he reminisced on even on his death bed.

My father Stanley Heron, his Math Teacher at Kingston Technical High School was someone to whom Easton referred constantly. He never failed to share the story of how while he was a student my father gave him a note to take to my mother, who he was courting at the time, and who worked nearby. My poor father did not realise that Easton was my mother’s first cousin. And Easton did not realise who he was taking the note to until he delivered it. My mother graciously accepted the note and Easton returned to school—saying nothing to my father, but immediately advising his classmates to start calling my Father ‘cuz’.

Of course, my father did not have a clue what this ‘cuz thing’ was about. He later did say however, when asked why he had selected Easton from among all the boys to take the note, that “I really liked him; he was bright and affable”. Of course, my father really did become Easton’s ‘cuz’ as he married my mother shortly after. And the anecdote became a part of family lore , repeated on many occasions such as at Easton’s wedding, by my father who was the Master of Ceremonies, and at my father’s funeral by Easton who gave the Eulogy. Easton’s memory was sharp to the very end, and was entirely focused on family: The last time my aunt, brothers and I saw him alive, his voice a mere whisper, he called to mind experiences and memories such as trying to dodge punishment for cursing bad words at the age of four; the close attention paid by his parents to selecting a high school for him as there was none for boys where they were living at the time; the generosity of my grandmother, his aunt, who lived close to Clarendon College and who sent the cryptic telegram: “Send di bwoy come”; the kindness of my aunt and mother who gave him pocket money when he was a high school student; the generosity of my aunt who never failed to welcome him into her home in Porus when he had to undertake work in the area , and so on.

In his weakened state, he thanked us all--- those who were there and those who had passed, his mantra being ‘ Family, Family, --it’s Everything…...’ Easton: “The song is ended but the melody lingers on”.--irving Berlin You will live in our hearts forever.

May your soul rest in Peace and Light Eternal shine on you.