The life of pioneer Jamaican businessman and real estate developer, Derrick Mahfood, was celebrated yesterday morning in a lively thanksgiving service at the University chapel, Mona campus.

Mahfood died in Miami on September 2 after a long illness. He was 77.

His body was cremated in Miami and his ashes will be sent to the island later this week, son-in-law Andrew Issa told the Observer.

Jamaicans from all walks of life turned out to pay their respects to the veteran real estate developer who helped to initiate the construction of shopping plazas along Constant Spring Road in Kingston in the 1960s and early 1970s.

“He was a visionary,” said Agriculture Minister Christopher Tufton, who was among government officials in attendance headed by Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

“Mahfood was not only determined but had great ideas, he transformed the life of Kingston,” Tufton added.

Mahfood constructed the Mall, Village and Southdale shopping plazas in St Andrew, setting the trend in the 1960s, thus creating the vibrant uptown shopping district known today.

His passion for innovative real estate development also led him to build the gated community, Pines of Millsborough, long before walled housing schemes became commonplace.

Mahfood continued his innovations through the decades, when in 2006 he renovated the Courtyard at the Marketplace, also along Constant Spring Road, to create Kingston’s largest concentration of upscale dining spots.

The accomplished Mahfood was in April of this year presented with the Jamaica Observer Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in the construction sector.