Although it has been another successful year for our beautiful nation, it is sad to have lost a few outstanding Guyanese who have served greatly in the arts and public service forums. Let’s take a moment to reflect on their life’s work, dedication and contributions to society.
In January, Cyril Shaw, who became a household name in the local and regional arts industry, died just short of his 90th birthday. Shaw has left an indelible contribution to Guyanese cultural life and more importantly, the development of calypso as a performing art. His body of work enriched the arts of publicity and political publications. He established a reputation across Guyana and the Caribbean, receiving several awards for his contribution to the development of the music industry. As an entrepreneur, he promoted the world’s best performers. He was also an active supporter of Guyanese sports. Shaw has been honoured for his contribution to the development of the arts, and more specifically for the development and promotion of calypso in the Caribbean and beyond, by several islands in the Caribbean, including St. Maarten, Aruba, and a few other islands. He also received awards for his contribution to the music world; among his many rewards was one from the Guyana Cultural Association of New York. He has left a proud legacy which his wife and daughters honour each year with the annual ‘Nrityageet’ shows.
January also saw the loss of another famous Guyanese personality. Social history icon and culture enthusiast Godfrey Chin passed away at age 74. Chin was the author of the very popular “Nostalgia” series in various media, as well as a book – “Godfrey’s Nostalgias-Golden Memories of Guyana 1940-1980”– and a pictorial enthusiast. Chin had hosted pictorial exhibitions at various venues across North America, including Vancouver in Canada and in the U.S. in Washington DC, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando and Guyana. He was in the midst of planning an exhibition when he died.
In April, renowned international musician Guyanese pianist, Dennis De Souza died in Canada, ending a battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 77. Dennis started playing the piano at the tender age of 9 and hailed from Mahaica, East Coast Demerara. At age 20, he was booked to sail to England via Trinidad to study music composition. But Dennis had another interest- cricket. “I fell in love with T&T and the ship sailed without me. I played cricket with Harvard and with Queen’s Park C.C. I was in the company of Willie Rodriguez, Ben Kanhai, Sonny Ramadhin, the Davis Brothers and Joey Carew,” the musical stalwart disclosed in an interview he had done with Indo Caribbean World. One night after “a big victory”, Dennis and his cricketing friends went to the Penthouse in Port of Spain to celebrate. “The resident band leader, Choy Aming, invited me to play the piano with his band. Because of the constant encores, people would not let me leave until 5:00 a.m.,” he recalled. Music, to Dennis, was an international language which he said we can understand without the use of a dictionary. He would normally recall his many tours abroad when he visited and played in 27 cities in Germany, the UK, USA, France Switzerland, South America and most of the islands of the Caribbean archipelago.
“Yet, I have not done enough. I want to do a lot more compositions, the last being ‘Pakaraima’,” Dennis declared in his last interview before he passed on.
Another visionary, the internationally acclaimed sculptor and artist, Philip Moore, died in May at his home on the Corentyne, East Berbice. He was 90. He succumbed after a prolonged battle with a heart complaint. Moore was the recipient of the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH). Up to the time of his death, he had been a resident tutor at the Burrowes School of Art. Moore considered himself “spirit taught” since 1955 when he had dreamt that a huge hand had reached down from the heavens and a voice commanded him to become an artist. Though Moore has produced several works, his most notable is the 33-foot high 1763 Monument at the Square of the Revolution. Moore was also a professor at Princeton University.
A distinguished public servant, former ‘Top Cop’ Laurie Lewis died in August. He was being treated for kidney failure and was receiving dialysis. While this has been the case for some two years, the commissioner had been in and out of hospital as his health deteriorated slowly. Lewis maintained a relationship with the Guyana Police Force by
attending it’s anniversary celebrations and its activities, as well as accepting invitations from the force for other activities although coping with his poor health which was taking a toll on his mobility. The late commissioner enjoyed playing dominos and cards and looking after his aquarium as well as rearing several birds. The former ‘Top Cop’ had for many years, even before becoming the Commissioner of Police, reared poultry. He will be remembered for his resilience in fighting corruption and implementing necessary measures for nationwide security.
Another former Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene, passed away after a tragic accident in September. Greene is remembered for his astute dedication to public service and more importantly the security of the nation. The late Commissioner of Police was responsible for the leadership and development of the force and during his career, security of the people of Guyana was a primary preoccupation of his, as demonstrated in his tireless efforts to introduce and promote new and innovative ways of crime fighting. Greene’s achievements as a gymnast and a table tennis player at Queens College were recalled at his funeral service including his role on the Guyana Table Tennis Association where he served as an administrator and player.
He was said to have been undefeated at the game and channelled many of his winning prize monies to the coffers of the association which he brought vibrancy and was successful in decentralizing. Twenty five umpires were trained and Guyana hosted two level one table tennis courses under his tutelage.
Indranie Shaw-Lennartson, legendary Guyanese dancer and linguist, another notable Guyanese, passed away in October after a brief illness in a Swedish hospital at the age of 50. Indranie Shaw-Lennartson was a co-founder of the Nadira and Indranie Shaw Dance Troupe. The group has an interest in a wide range of dance traditions, although it owes its formation and early preoccupations and development of Indian dance and music, it has long since transcended Indian forms. In 1994, she was awarded an Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarship to further her studies in dance in New Delhi, India. After her studies, she followed her heart and went to Sweden where she got married to Anders Lennartson. Their union brought forth two children. Shaw-Lennartson’s last dance performance was at ‘Nrityageet 33’ in 2011 at the National Cultural Centre. At the time of her death, she was reading for a doctorate in Kathak at the University of Umea, Sweden. Shaw-Lennartson performed in New Delhi, New York,
Virginia and Sweden, and represented Guyana at the 1981 Carifesta celebrations in Barbados.
It was sad news when we learnt of Canada-based Guyanese singer, Pamela Maynard‘s death in November after a long battle with breast cancer. Maynard was one of Guyana’s singing icons whose breakthrough has been far too long in coming. She was versatile in most areas of popular music including Gospel, Reggae, Soul, R&B, Jazz, Calypso and Soca among other varying types of music. Maynard made history in the film industry. She received awards in four genres of music including Best Reggae, Country and Western, Soul and R&B from SurfNoir Inc in the USA. In the UK, she received the prestigious JetStar Award, the Music Volks Award in Germany and the Reggae Award, best Calypso and best Gospel Awards in Canada to name a few. The list of artists she has shared the stage with include the likes of Ben E King, the Platters, the Drifters and Ray Charles; also top Jamaican acts such as Jimmy Cliff, Hopeton Lewis, John Holt, Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, and Boris Gardner; other acts such as Sid and the Slickers, Yoruba Singers, Aubrey Mann, Smallman Band as well as calypsonian giants Lord Kitchener, the Mighty Sparrow, Shadow, Baron, Troubadours among others.
In November, well-known entrepreneur and proprietor of Denmor Garment Factory, Dennis Morgan, passed away at age 64 after a brief heart ailment.
Over the years, Denmor Garment Factory has provided employment for hundreds especially women. The factory manufactured various types of designer clothing for markets in North America and elsewhere.
Morgan is also a philanthropist, regularly contributing to a number of charities in Guyana and overseas.
Morgan was a former chairman of the Police Service Commission, and had been publicly recognised for his contributions in entrepreneurship on several occasions. He was a national awardee.
Prominent Guyana-born literary icon, Professor Jan Carew, died in early December at age 92. Carew was born in Agricola, East Bank Demerara on 24 September, 1920. He was a professor at the University of Louisville and became Emeritus Professor at Northwestern University, Chicago where he worked from 1973 to 1987. He was a novelist, playwright, poet and educator. He led a rich and varied life as writer, educator, philosopher and advisor to several nation states. After his initial education in British Guiana, he studied at universities in the US, Czechoslovakia, and France. In
