Pallbearer Geoffrey Brown (left) buries his face in his hand as he helps carry his grandfather's casket into the Church of St Margaret in Liguanea at the funeral service yesterday afternoon. At right (in the pews) are relatives of the late Geof Brown. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

GEOFFREY Valentine Brown was a man who worked hard and lived well.

That's how the late university lecturer, newspaper columnist, social worker and former diplomat was remembered at a well-attended thanksgiving service for his life at the Church of St Margaret in Liguanea, St Andrew yesterday afternoon.
Brown, affectionately called 'Geof', passed away in hospital on September 22 after a brief bout with lymphoma - a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells. He was 78.

At the time of his passing, Brown was a retired senior lecturer at the School of Continuing Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and a human resource development and management consultant. He also penned weekly columns for the Observer. He was also serving as honorary consul for Botswana in Jamaica and was very active in his community.

At yesterday's mid-afternoon funeral service, a large gathering turned out to bid farewell to the man whose professional career spanned some 55 years and several disciplines. Among the mourners in the packed church and church hall were relatives, government ministers, former students and members of the private and public sectors - all solemnly laced together in liturgy.

Professor Rex Nettleford, vice chancellor emeritus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), said Brown served the regional institution with "commitment, zeal and caring".

"He was deeply committed to his work and had a deep respect for voluntary service. He was the type of intellectual guerilla that the UWI always needed as a creative response to the challenge of change," Nettleford told the congregation.
Family friend Hugh Levy said Brown "conquered many frontiers" during his sojourn on Earth.

"Anyone who ever met Geof knew that he was a gem of the rarest breed. He was a man with deep and abiding love of family and reliability which his friends emulated," Levy said during a brief tribute. "He was also the consummate host who spared no pains in ensuring the comfort of his guest. He was also a fierce debater who was never discourteous or patronising to his opponents."

Fighting back tears, Brown's five daughters - Carole Bailey, Nadine Brown-Snow, Gennevieve Kibble, Ann-Marie Thompson and Allison Hickling - collectively praised their dad who they said was "not the perfect father but did his best".

"He was the consummate family man. He was passionate about service and dedicated his life to service above self," said Bailey, the eldest daughter.

"He loved to work; he enjoyed it. And he earned deep respect and admiration for it. He was tough but also fair. That was Daddy," Hickling said.

Other tributes were offered in the musical form by Professor Barry Chevannes, Reverend Ralph Hoyte, Errol Lee and the Diocesan Festival Choir.

In addition to his wife Janet and daughters, Brown's many relatives, including his eight grandchildren, have been left to mourn his passing.

During his sermon, Reverend Basil McLeod offered words of comfort to the bereaved family, encouraging them and the congregation at large to prepare for the final days.

"Preparing ourselves for death is perhaps the most important task of our lives. We have to get ourselves ready to meet the Lord," he told the attentive church, before turning to the family. "We can only promise to carry you on in our prayers. Today we thank God that [Brown] lived his life knowing he was in the hands of God."

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World