MONTEGO BAY St James

Anita Lawrence has petitioned the St James Parish Council for permission to bury her late husband, Aston Clinton Lawrence ‘Pop’, at the Montego Bay Boys’ Club where he spent most of his life as a director.

The petition, which Lawrence made through Attorney Clayton Morgan, is one of two. The other was made by the club’s board of directors following Pop’s death on January 29. He was 72.

David Earle, one of the directors of the 64-year-old institution, told the OBSERVER WEST on Tuesday that although they were hoping the parish council would give them the go-ahead, they had put an alternate plan in place for Pop to be buried at the Dovecot cemetery in Irwin, just in case they did not get the requisite permission.

Earle said the plans were to build an above ground tomb to house Lawrence’s remains as they were cognisant of the softness of the grounds at the club and the possibility of flooding during the rainy season. He said, however, that since the nearby drains along Barnett Lane were cleaned on a regular basis, the occurrences of flooding have declined appreciably.

Earle also said that one member of the board of directors, Lisa Watt, had offered to donate the material for the construction of the tomb.

The funeral service is set for Saturday, February 17 at the St James Parish Church where Lawrence had been a member for several decades. Earle noted that already they had been swamped with requests from many past members, dignitaries and politicians wishing to participate in the funeral service.