ON Valentine’s Day, five days before James and Jennifer Lim would have celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary, he gave her a beautifully written card, signed with his love.

Two days later, Jennifer was left with memories of the 10 years they were together.

That Sunday, James Lim, former deputy chairman of the Insurance Company of the West Indies (ICWI) was found in his yard by his gardener with a gunshot wound to his head. The 75 year-old retired businessman had committed suicide.

Yesterday morning, about 600 family members, friends and employees of ICWI and Red Stripe gathered at the University Chapel, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, to pay tribute to the life of James Torrance Lim.

They packed the chapel’s hall and spilled into a tent outside specially erected to accommodate those who wanted to respectfully say good-bye.

Some wept openly, while others, still in shock at his untimely death, stared stoically at the large, framed and demure portrait of Lim, set amidst a cascading white lily floral arrangement. His body was not present.

Jim, as he was affectionately called by many, was remembered as a humanitarian, a great leader and a family man. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1927, Lim came to Jamaica in the 1950s, fell in love with the island and decided to relocate here. He later married artist and environmentalist Beatrice Desnoes (deceased 1991) with whom he had four daughters, and began a long career at Desnoes and Geddes Limited (now Red Stripe).

There, starting as sales manager, he eventually was promoted to the board of directors, where he served in several positions including vice-president. He also served on the boards of West Indies Glass Limited and the Morgan’s Harbour Hotel before retiring in the 1990s.

Monsignor Father Richard Albert, who officiated, described Lim as a gentleman, one who was tolerant and who sought the good in everyone.

“… He moved beyond the confines of his own comfort, beliefs and was a nation-builder,” said Albert. “He had a sense of respect for everyone and appreciated the spirit that moved in all of us — the person. He was a spiritual man. The world was his church. Today, we give thanks for his life, for having known him. He was a unique, powerful, very humble man. Jamaica, the companies that he associated with were better off by knowing him. He was a man filled with more love than hate.

“He is safe in the hands of God who loved him and created him,” Albert concluded.

The musical tributes, professional and well-delivered, were thought-inspiring. Even the piece, Young at Heart, performed by pre-teen students of the Holy Family School, although they struggled to get the words out, nonetheless paid tribute to a man considered to be “a prince among men”.

Heart’s Land, an inspirational memorial poem penned by Easton Lee, was read by Lim’s youngest daughter Mirah, who had accompanied him on his 75th birthday trip to China early last year.

Edward Seaga, leader of the Opposition and a personal friend of the Lim family, read from the book of Job. He remembered Lim as “smiling and cheerful, always engaging in positive talk”.

He expressed shock that his friend was suffering and had taken his own life.

In her remembrance, Lim’s oldest daughter, Robin Lim Lumsden, spoke of her father’s battle with clinical depression.

“Dad’s personality epitomised the yin and yang — the sunshine and the rain,” she said.

“As ironic as it may seem now,” said Robin Lim of her father, who, at the time of his death was being treated for clinical depression, “daddy loved life… I can only hope that his public stature contributes to a better understanding of depression and other mental illnesses, and that we will find kinder, more humane ways of caring for people with such problems.”

She shared an anecdote that spoke directly to the character of her father.

“In the 1960s, he got involved with starting Citizen’s Bank because he was outraged that a D&G wholesaler in Westmoreland could not start a bank account because he was black,” she said.

“The more profound side of him is that he touched many lives… he didn’t do anything to divide us — family, friends, and as a nation.”

Jim Lim is survived by his second wife, Jennifer; daughters Robin, Leslie, Shaun, and Mirah; as well as several stepchildren, and grandchildren.