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Bradley Roberts funeral at St Francis Xavier Cathedral.

Photos: Terrel W Carey/Tribune staff

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

MOURNERS filled St Francis Xavier Cathedral on Friday to celebrate the life of former Cabinet minister, parliamentarian, and Progressive Liberal Party Chairman Bradley Roberts.

To honour his life of service, the pomp of state was on full display for Mr Roberts’ funeral, which was well attended by government officials, former colleagues, and loved ones who remembered the political giant as a husband, father, grandfather, politician and successful businessman.

Mr Roberts, 74, died suddenly at his home on October 28, 2018 of an acute subdural haemorrhage.

During the homily, Father Glen C. Nixon described Mr Roberts as a beloved church member and dedicated Christian, noting he was a faithful attendee of early mass.

“Bradley was not a politician who became a believer, he was a believer who became a politician,” Father Nixon said. “He was not just in the church, the church was in him.”

He noted that although Roberts was taken “unexpectedly”, he had already “left his mark on the political landscape”.

Born on Christmas Day 1943, Mr Roberts first emerged in public life in the 1977 general election as a candidate for the now abolished Shirlea Constituency opposing the late Sir Roland Symonette.

While he did not win that race, he emerged victorious in a by-election following the death of Shadrach Morris, the incumbent in the old Grants Town constituency in 1982, and remained a member of Parliament until 2007, when he did not seek re-election.

Mr Roberts was sworn in as Minister of Works and Utilities on May 7, 2002 – five days after the PLP’s victory in the 2002 general election, an election he was instrumental in helping his party win.

Mr Roberts retired from front-line politics in October 2017 and was elected chairman emeritus during the PLP’s special PLP convention on July 28, 2018.

“Today we must try to put partisan politics aside so that we can better recognize a son of the soil, who was not perfect, but tried his best to make the Bahamas better,” Father Nixon added.

Mr Roberts was also respected in the world of business. In the 1970s, he became a founding member of “The Sunshine Boys”, a group of black businessmen. This collective eventually evolved into the Sunshine Group of Companies, of which Mr Roberts became the first chairman.

Father Nixon also highlighted Mr Roberts’ charitable nature, describing him as someone who often assisted his fellow Bahamians with various needs.

This sentiment was reiterated in a tribute by Sir Franklyn Wilson, which was published in Mr Roberts’ obituary.

Sir Franklyn, chairman of Sunshine Holdings Ltd, wrote: “Another quality that was for Bradley, wealth nor power was about self-aggrandizement. Instead, these were for use to help provide educational support for relatives, to assist the victims of hunger, to support the sick, the suffering and the marginalized.

“Beyond these essentially personal areas, Bradley used his power and wealth for the promotion of dignity for all people, for the advancement of justice and truth and to respond positively to those who simply needed encouragement from a person they respected."

Mr Roberts was married to his wife, Hartlyn, for 53 years. They had four children, one of whom predeceased him, and four grandchildren.