THE former Campion College cricket coach and sports master Wilbert Parkes was remembered as a man who made a significant impact on the lives of many who attended that noble institution.

During his thanksgiving service on Saturday, People’s National Party Member of Parliament Julian Robinson paid tribute on behalf of Campion College cricketers, as follows:

“In reflecting on Mr Parkes’s life, I kept asking myself this question, ‘What is the meaning of life?’

Why are we actually here on earth? In my search for that answer I went to Micah 6 vs 8. ‘….and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God’ Mr Wilbert Parkes did that. As a father, he made runs. He lost his wife in his mid 40s and had the responsibility to care for four daughters on his own. He did not shirk, he did not complain. He stood up and embraced that challenge and has produced four wonderful ladies who have all become successes in their own right.

As a coach, he made runs. I won’t recite the long list of trophies won by Campion’s cricket teams but it is important to highlight a few. On May 12, 1987, when we won the Sunlight Cup for the first time, it was a monumental occasion for the school, though not recognised for its significance. Campion College was considered the uptown school that could only do well in swimming, water polo and tennis. We were never viewed as serious competitors at the senior levels in the traditional sports of cricket and football. And so, in winning the Sunlight Cup in 1987 it marked the very first time that Campion College had won – at the senior level – a trophy in a traditional sport.

In a way, that victory gave us ‘street cred’ – a basis for some respect, even grudgingly, from others at the traditional sporting schools. I, perchance, there were those who thought it was a fluke, we repeated our Sunlight Cup triumph in 1988 but [also] went further to win the Colts and Under-14 championships, marking the first time that the school had won all three major schoolboy cricket competitions in one year.

The common denominator in all of these successes was Mr Parkes. For all his successes as a cricket coach at Campion, and there are many, the last legacy of Mr Parkes is the impact he had off the field in developing the hearts, minds and characters of generations of young men. As a coach, he emphasised playing with a good technique and mastering the basics. He felt that was the foundation for future success. For sure, many of us developed our games at the club level but Mr Parkes was the glue that held Campion’s cricket successes together.

Our appreciation for Mr Parkes grew more significantly after we left school and pursued our own paths personally and professionally. We recognised the value and significance of ‘playing straight’ – both literally with the cricket bat and as a metaphor for life; living our lives with integrity. As Mr Parkes walks off the field of play, having scored a century, he leaves a rich legacy that we can all be very proud of. He has lived a life of integrity. He has shaped and moulded the minds of many. He has loved his family. He has dedicated his life to serve, mentor and coach others. Mr Parkes has done justly, loved with mercy and walked humbly with his God.”

Parkes worked as a sports correspondent with the Jamaica Observer and Radio Jamaica for many years.