YVON Thomas Desulme, former Honorary Consul of the Republic of Haiti to Jamaica, was one week ago remembered as an adopted son of Jamaica who enriched and empowered many lives.

Desulme died on September 20 after a short battle with cancer.

He was 72 years old.

A thanksgiving service celebrating his life was held on October 5 at the Sts Peter & Paul Catholic Church on Old Hope Road in Kingston.

Former Prime Minister PJ Patterson offered the remembrance.

“Today we who gather here have joined to rejoice in knowing him during his lifetime. He had a passion for social justice. He became Jamaican by choice without dividing ties with Haiti,” Patterson said during his tribute.

Patterson also reflected on Desulme’s influence on Jamaican politics. He remembered Desulme’s encouragement and advice to him when he was prime minister and hailed his love for family.

“The care and protection of his family was the hallmark of his life. He was devoted to his family. He would tell us that his wife, Cynthia, was his hands, legs and head,” he said.

In a written tribute by Industry Minister Anthony Hylton, Desulme was recalled as an influential Haitian who helped many Jamaicans to understand the challenges faced by Haitians in the past.

“Yvon Desulme’s life was lived in parts and was enriched and shaped by the many and varied experiences. He in turn helped me and others to understand the complexities of life and what it means to be Haitian in today’s Caribbean and a largely forgetful and uncaring world,” the tribute stated.

“His relationship with his father, the late Thomas Desulme, who pre-deceased him, was legendary. It was through his many and varied stories about his father that I was privileged to get a better appreciation about the challenges and promise of the Haitian people. His father was his hero and he was happiest when he reminisced about the role his father played, both here in Jamaica as an industrialist and philanthropist and in his earlier life as a minister in Haitian Government, before running for the presidency of Haiti on more than one occasion, even from exile in Jamaica,” Hylton added.

Christopher Issa, Honorary Consul to Slovakia, in his written tribute remembered Desulme as a kind and caring man with a great love for his family and friends.

“He had a good sense of humour, enjoyed a good laugh, and a happy smile was often not far away. He cared deeply about his adopted homeland Jamaica and its people,” Issa’s tribute stated.

Other tributes were written and posted by Captain Oliver Jobson, Edwidge Desulme and Richard Hanna from Florida; Nessim Izmery and Raymond Magloire from Haiti; Dr Matthew Beaubrun from St Lucia; Marjorie Johnson and Dr Rosalea Hamilton and Gordon Tewani from Kingston, Jamaica.

Desulme is survived by his wife and children, Danielle, Sacha and Nicholas.

Desulme’s remains were cremated.