Everywhere you looked, there were little flashes of his legacy. Someone wore a Trevor Rose designed dress; others chose the kind of high heels that looked as if he was the designer with them in mind.
His grieving relatives also sported some very fashionable pieces. So when they said farewell to Trevor Ryan Rose on Monday, they effectively ensured that his name lived on. And though a flooded Le Repentir Cemetery forced the postponement of his burial, his family and friends ensured that he got the kind of send off, fitting of one who has made his mark.
Rose, 32, of Lot 232 East Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown, who was a local clothing designer and sport enthusiast, was gunned down two Sundays ago.
Reflecting on her father’s life, Rose’s eldest daughter Shanise Rose told a packed audience at the Olivet Seventh-day-Adventist Church that her dad was a loving man, noting that he was one of her role models.
The child said she could have counted on Rose for guidance, regardless of the topic.
Family members gathered in honour of the deceased, remembered Rose as a loving father and a gifted fashion designer. The traumatised family members could not bear the sight of the open casket which had to be closed while Pastor Elton Lindie and Fitzroy Sealey carried out their sermon.
Pastor Lindie, a cousin of the deceased, gave his personal views and experiences of Rose’s life, while also recalling that the father of eight was responsible for the launch of one of the first local basketball teams in Guyana.
Hurt
Asked for their comments, relatives said the loss is hurtful, but not more as the manner he departed. One man eulogised Rose as a person with a kind spirit, noting that he did not deserve such a death. Family members also believed that his murder was not a mistake and called for justice to prevail.
At one point, reporters asked Rose’s mother Lillian Browne how she felt about Rose’s killer or killers still being at large, and she responded saying, “There’s nothing nobody can do to bring him back”.
The funeral service was punctuated with a range of tributes and musical selections, one of which was performed by Rose’s two daughters. One member of the family said she came all the way from Trinidad and Tobago to be reunited with Rose after she migrated and got married, just days before her departure.
Burial delayed
Meanwhile, relatives were forced to postpone the interment of the fashion designer due to the flooded cemetery. Soon after the final hymn was sung, it was announced that the burial would not be taking place immediately, but rather one day after the service, due to the weather and lack of support systems.
Only recently, a number of burials was pushed back after the funeral services, including that of veteran broadcaster Terry Holder, due to the flooded Le Repentir Cemetery.
Managed by the Mayor and City Council, the cemetery is a haven for thieves, who find security in the huge bushes and an assortment of waste. Rose was killed while he was in a taxi within the vicinity of the traffic lights at Eccles, East Bank Demerara. Two other persons; a female acquaintance of Rose, Latoya Towler, the mother of Rose’s two-year-old son and the driver of the car Troy Nieuinkirk, were also shot during the ordeal.
