NEITHER the 15-page programme nor the rendition of his favourite hymn — How Great Thou Art — could tell half the story of the man lauded for his dedication to the service of others.

The numerous tributes, however — some recorded, some written, some live — gave deeper insight into the life of Samuel Agustus Fitz-Henley, OD, who was yesterday laid to rest after a touching service at Philadelphia Assembly Hall in Greenwich Town — the church he attended for 68 years.

At age seven, he passed a 75-minute adult shorthand and typing exam in only 17 minutes and at age 19, became the youngest appointed Supreme Court reporter. Fitz-Henley was also an international shorthand expert and court reporter, specialising in Pitman shorthand, the first Black director of the US National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the winner of the organisation’s Distinguished Service Award in 1981, a former chairman of Back to the Bible Jamaica, founder of the Jamaica Shorthand Writers Association, a business education examiner at the University of the West Indies and the University of Technology, the founder and principal of Fitz-Henley’s Secretarial Institute for 30 years, an author, and evangelist/pastor of Philadelphia Assembly Hall for close to 70 years.

Fitz-Henley also received awards from the United States, England and Australia for his contribution to education in those countries. In Jamaica, he was awarded an Order of Distinction for court reporting and education in 2005.

Yesterday the small church on East Avenue overflowed with well-wishers, forcing many to view the proceedings from large tents outside.

As tribute after tribute was heard, smiles lit up some people’s face, but occasional tears flowed from family members still coming to terms with their loss. They took comfort in the knowledge that Fitz-Henley was a man of God.

“You could ask him for a scripture that you had difficulty finding and he didn’t have to look in the Bible, he could just tell you,” officiating minister from the Nazareth Assembly Hall in Dalvey, St Thomas, Harold McKenzie said.

In his last recorded voice message while a patient in the UHWI in December, Fitz-Henley encouraged persons to “love one another and work together for the glory of God”.

Dr Barry Davidson, founder of the Family Life Ministries, said the ministry was indebted to Fitz-Henley and his wife Olive, who were instrumental in the acquisition of the ministry’s property on Cecelia Avenue in Kingston, 12 years ago.

“He sought to honour the Lord even in his business transactions,” Davidson said in his tribute. “Many Jamaicans continue to be concerned about the deterioration of family life in Jamaica. He and his wife shared the values to build family life. He not only shared the vision, but offered resources to enable that vision,” Davidson said.

“It is through his generosity that thousands of Jamaicans will be affected by the ministry. We would not have been able to accomplish what we have without the input of him and his family.”

Fitz-Henley served the NCRA for 40 years and was described as “a special man having a warm smile and engaging personality who developed a reputation for accurate court reporting while doing so in shorthand”.

In a written tribute, Fitz-Henley’s sister Leta Hay said “it is amazing! What a wonderful brain my brother possessed”.

His brother, Trevor Fitz-Henley, said his late sibling inherited a fondness for words and foreign languages, and a “sensitivity for organising information and imparting them with disciplined, delectable simplicity”. He praised him for not having been afraid of commenting publicly about moral issues of the day.

Past president of the NCRA Martin Block described Fitz-Henley as “one of the finest people I have had the privilege of knowing. He was the epitome of a generation of leaders now all but gone, men and women of unique skill, knowledge, style and grace that earned them the highest degree of respect and honour.”

Tributes were also paid by Jim Ramsay, vice-chairman of Midland Bible Institute, of which Fitz-Henley was a member; brothers Dr Norman Fitz-Henley and Handel Fitz-Henley; grandchildren Renee Fitz-Henley and Sheldon Ferron, along with his wife Olive.

The eulogy was done by former Philadelphia member and family friend Aston Peynado and the message entitled ‘prepare to meet thy God’ delivered by Donald Palmer, brother-in-law to the deceased.

Fitz-Henley passed away on December 21, six days before his birthday. He is survived by his wife of 59 years Olive, four children and seven grandchildren.