THIS Christmas when the rousing strains of Early Christmas Morning, aka the Ghetto Carol, ring out, one rich baritone will be missing. That of its prolific composer, respected social anthropologist Professor Barrington ‘Barry’ Chevannes.

Chevannes, 70, passed away yesterday at the University Hospital of the West Indies following a brief battle with acute pancreatitis, a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. As word of his demise spread, it evoked shocked responses from those with whom he lived and worked.

“We expected he would be back, it was sudden,” daughter Amba Chevannes told the Observer. “He had acute pancreatitis but they don’t know why it came on, the doctors haven’t been able to figure it out but that is something that takes you suddenly. There wasn’t much time, they just had to treat the illness itself.”

While his family tried to deal with the reality of the gaping hole left by that committed father and husband, tributes poured in from all levels of society.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding offered condolence to the family, saying that the death of Chevannes, who he described as “one of Jamaica’s leading intellectuals”, had dealt “a tremendous blow to the academic, religious and cultural communities”.

“In addition to his outstanding contribution to the University of the West Indies where he lectured for many years, Professor Chevannes will be remembered as a leading activist for peace in Jamaica as he headed the Violence Prevention Alliance which launched a safe community campaign in 2006,” Golding said.

Paying tribute to his work as a founding member of Fathers Incorporated, a parenting support group that focuses on developing and instilling positive values in men, Golding said Chevannes’ passing “has left a void as an outstanding mentor in society”.

In her tribute, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller hailed Professor Chevannes’ service to the region through the University of the West Indies (UWI) as “unquestionably legendary”.

“We had known for some time that he was ailing, but the news that he had died came as no less a surprise,” said Simpson Miller. “I always saw him as noble and assertive but never imposing or aggressive. His passion, objectivity and sincerity were always available whenever he was asked to participate on any project or committee. He dedicated his very active life to moving Jamaica’s development forward.”

The UWI also paid tribute to the man they said was “a very vital part of the community, having had a long and distinguished career as a lecturer, researcher and administrator”.

“Professor Chevannes’ contributions to university life and to public service were exemplary. Important among these was the National Commission on Ganja, which he headed and out of which the National Report on Ganja Use was produced. Of special note are Professor Chevannes’ innovative initiatives such as his founding of Fathers Incorporated, and his contributions to the Peace Management Initiative,” Vice-Chancellor Professor E Nigel Harris said.

The Ganja Law Reform Coalition, of which Chevannes was chair, also “expressed deep sorrow” at the passing of the prominent academic and social reformer.

“Professor Chevannes’ strident commitment to social reform and unrelenting pursuit to make Jamaica a better place for all should never be forgotten. The indelible and very positive mark he has left on the lives of many Jamaicans and many more persons throughout the world made him an outstanding force of focused goodwill and knowledge,” the coalition said in a statement.

“His immense contributions to academia, culture, the Rastafari movement, peace management, justice reform, youth development, ganja law reform, Pan-Africanism and a litany of other areas also illustrated to us a man who was untiring in his pursuit for the greater good for all, and even more so the many marginalised peoples in our societies,” it added.

Journalist and talk show host Barbara Gloudon, who is deputy chair of the Institute of Jamaica where Chevannes served as chairman of the council from 1977 to the point of his passing, had a hard time adjusting to the news.

“The last meeting of the council in September, I walked with him from the Council Chamber to the outside and there was no indication he was ill, much less seriously ill,” she told the Observer. “Still, in the hope that he would be there, we spoke in his name at the recent Musgrave Awards, explaining to the audience his absence through illness and passed on the wishes of the whole assembly for his recovery. All along we have been working as if he would be all right. We expected him to come back. We thought by the next meeting he would be out, only to our sorrow to find out he is gone.

“He brought to the work a lot of his knowledge of the Jamaican cultural life. He could always engage in a conversation about the value of any cultural activity and almost led us to look at it far deeper than what it was. Barry was very multi-faceted. Interestingly, he became a spokesman in the name of Professor Rex Nettleford and on about three occasions he had gone abroad… to speak of the tremendous contribution of Rex. So it is kind of, for me, very poignant and hard that he is gone in the same year as Rex,” she reflected.

Nettleford died of a heart attack in February this year.

Gloudon described Chevannes’ passing as a tremendous loss to the academic community and said, “He did a lot of work, so being chairman of the Institute of Jamaica was quite right because the institute’s remit is across that wide spectrum — the arts, the sciences, the music and so on. It’s kind of doubly painful that we lost two in the same year,” she said, adding that the institute will be taking the appropriate steps to honour him.

In the words of executive director of the Institute of Jamaica Vivian Crawford “Christmas will not be the same this year knowing he is not around when we sing his carol Early Christmas Morning”.

“He was a very decisive person. So much has been accomplished under his watch, when there was art to be acquired he would say we don’t know where the money is coming from but let’s do that because the nation deserves that. So in other words, it was acquiring for the nation so that the next generation will know that something went on,” he reminisced.

Meanwhile, members of Father’s Inc described Chevannes’ death as “a tragic loss”.

“He definitely got Father’s Inc going and it serves a very good purpose in society,” spokesman Lanny Davidson said. “His passing was sudden because I was really hoping he would have got better and would be back with us.”

For Deputy Chair Solomon McCalla, Chevannes “made an immense contribution that words can’t explain”.

“It’s not just to Father’s Inc, but to society and culture and people and communities in Jamaica and the Caribbean. He was global and phenomenal, good man, brethren, colleague and mentor,” he said.

And though the Government had already spoken, Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry and minister of youth, sports and culture Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange also paid tribute to Professor Chevannes.

“The country has lost a most wonderful and delightful soul, whose spirit of commitment to his country was unstinting,” Henry said.

For her part, Grange said Chevannes’ life was “no ordinary” one as “he dedicated himself to the promotion of the integrity of the Jamaican grassroots people, delving in academic research as well as engagement at the level of communities and organisations.”

At the time of his passing, Professor Chevannes was director of the UWI Centre for Public Safety and Justice. Earlier this year, he spearheaded the planning and arrangements for the official funeral of Vice-Chancellor Emeritus Rex Nettleford.

Chevannes, who received many awards nationally and internationally, also received the Vice Chancellor’s Award (UWI) for outstanding achievements in research, teaching and public service and is also recognised for his original contribution to Jamaican folk and religious song heritage.

Also, he was an international research consultant — answering demands throughout the West Indies, Europe, and the United States.