The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A MEMORIAL service was held on Sunday at Jubilee Cathedral to honour the 31 victims in Grand Bahama who lost their lives during Hurricane Dorian or are presumed dead in the aftermath of the deadliest and destructive storm in the Bahamas' history.

At the front of the church was a wreath with over 30 white lilies, each representing the nine persons who died, and the 22 others, including several children, who are still missing and feared dead from East Grand Bahama.

As singer Jay Mitchell sang a moving song tribute for the victims, and as photos and names of the deceased and the missing were displayed on a big screen, a wailing grief-stricken woman had to be escorted out of the church by an usher.

September 1 is a day that will never be forgotten by many - it was the day when Dorian made landfall in Abaco, the Category Five storm decimating that island before moving to Grand Bahama with 180 mph winds and 20-ft storm surge, the storm staying stationary over the island for 40 hours.

The brunt was felt in East Grand Bahama where lives were lost, and many are still unaccounted for. Most of the missing are from the High Rock community where more than a dozen had been swept away by the storm surge.

The names read of the deceased were: Catherine Armstrong, Clarissa Collie, Daisy Cartwright, Freeman Carey, Irene Saunders, Kenel Joseph, Latrvalia Williams-Daniel, Ango Daniel, and Marvin Rolle.

The names read of the missing were: Aaron Cooper, Adam Cooper, Albert Bridgewater, Clarence Jones, Darnita Cooper, Donluck Munnings, George Laing, Hennilee Mackey, Howard Bevans, J'vonaje Forde, Mateo Bethel, Monique Munnings, Omarion Munnings, Philip Thomas, Philip Thomas Jr, Raphaela Munnings, Remeille Thomas, Roswell Pinder, Shirlene Cooper, Sybil Pinder, Tanae Pinder, and Terrell Lightbourne.

Families of the victims also attended the service, which was hosted by the Grand Bahama Port Authority under the patronage of well-known Freeport philanthropist Lady Henrietta St George, who was also in attendance. Sarah St George, vice chairman of the GBPA, along with her brother, Henry St George, vice president of the GBPA, and other executives were also present.

Lady Henrietta, and her late husband, Edward St George, who was the chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, were prominent figures in Freeport for many years before his death. A year before his passing in 2004, they held an island-wide memorial service for the five missing boys of Grand Bahama who mysterious disappeared in 2003, and whose remains were later found.

Speaking on behalf of the government, Senator Jasmine Darius called on Bahamians to support each other during this difficult time.

"We all been touched by the apocalyptic and catastrophic Hurricane Dorian; every family across GB, and it is our prayer that Jehovah will give the families (of the victims) peace, and we encourage you to remember the lives and legacy of (the victims)," she said.

During the homily, Rev Dr Robert Lockhart, president of the Grand Bahama Christian Council, indicated that the entire island has been touched by the tragedy. "We all lost because…they are our fellow countrymen…and we will miss them all because they all added something to this great community, he said. All of us are connected in some way because of the smallness of us as a people, and nation."