OVER 80 years they shared a bond that was filled with brotherly love, distance and compatibility. In death, it grieved Leonard Lewis to let go his older brother, Luther.

Luther Lewis, a retired senior superintendent of the Jamaica Prison Service and soldier who served in World War II, was laid to rest last Thursday at Briggs Park, Up Park Camp. He was 93-years-old.

“The scripture says that we are to rejoice at the death of a loved one,” were words uttered by Lewis before he broke off his remembrance, succumbed to tears and began hitting the podium that held the papers on which he had summarised his brother’s life.

Four family members had to join him with encouragement to continue. As Leonard continued, he stopped reading from his notes and told the mourners of a dream he recently had.

“I dreamt that Luther and I went to heaven. St Peter stood by the gate and said can I have your papers. He checked mine and sent me through. Luther was next in line. St Peter checked his papers and also allowed him in. When he was about to enter St Peter saw a bottle in his shirt. St Peter shouted “Stop!” and asked, ‘What is that you have under your shirt?’. Luther said ‘Well you know, it’s a little spirit’,” he shared, which amused the mourners.

“What do you mean by spirit? ….. Who told you to bring this up here? “Luther’s response was, ‘They told me all spirits lived up here sah’. St Peter said ‘I have never heard of this yet. You are the first person to have left here with one spirit…. What have you done with the spirit we gave you?’,” Leonard added which aroused more laughter amongst the mourners.

Lewis died on May 2, sixteen days before the date he would have celebrated his 93rd birthday. His funeral was held at St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Allman Town, Kingston.

As the tributes flowed, Georgia Lewis Scott, the youngest child of Lewis, offered a reflection of her precious years spent with her father.

“Dad was tall, dark and handsome. We saw him as an awesome one. He was a strong and resilient protector who loved his family beyond measure. He loved his children and no one could touch us,” Lewis Scott said.

“My father had a great sense of humour and gave invaluable service to others. Shocking was his favourite adjective for everything. That some of the officers and prisoners even thought his surname was Shocking,” she said with a laugh.

Then she told a story which her father told her and he was the lead character.

“Once a prisoner was brought in for disciplinary action to be taken against him. After Daddy reviewed the case, he decided to send the prisoner to another cell for a few days. The prisoner started crying ‘Do Mr Shocking, give me a chance sar’. Dad said, ‘Who are you calling Mr Shocking?’. ‘But is that them say you name sar’ was the response of the prisoner,” she said, which caused the mourners to engage in healthy laughter again.

“When we gathered and asked each other what made Uncle George so special, everyone agreed on one thing – his great sense of humour… He used to tell us duppy stories, how he and his brothers would perform on stage, he would be dancing or talking about the current affairs in Jamaica,” said his niece Beverley Kirby as she offered tributes on behalf of Lewis’s family.

His grandson, Omar Chung, who shared a portion of his past under the same roof as Lewis, remembered his grandfather as a real disciplinarian.

“At age 10 I saw him on his wrong side for the first time. I got him cross, angry and miserable. We all know that he is not the person who normally does the beating. I sneaked past the house with some friends to play a practice football game…. When I got home grandpa asked me where I was coming from. I told him and he asked what happened. I told him they gave us six nil. So he said ‘come here boy’, and gave me six more slaps on the six nil that I got,” Chung said.

Chung tried to use adjectives that he believes best fit his grandfather character while alive. Some were jovial, disciplined, courteous and intelligent. He said he wished he could continue, but time would not permit him.

Noel Eldridge, retired deputy commissioner of police, led those who offered tributes. He offered a long tribute and fond farewell to a man who had served this country with excellence.