A TRIBUTE TO OUR VERY DEAR FAMILY FRIEND BILTON BRAMBLE
by
Jim Bass
In many respects, the relationship between Bill and myself is in great measure summarized by the fact that when he was alive and even now that he has left us, whenever I thought of him then and in these times of his decease, I tend to smile or laugh to myself. This happy response to the act of thinking about him reflects the essence of his personality. Bilton as I usually called him most times partially in jest (as he would call me J.B.) was one of the more unique
personalities that I, my deceased wife Inez, and our three children have been blessed to know as a friend.
Bill and I first met in 1958 when a team of Montserrat Secondary School (M.S.S.) students visited St. Kitts to compete against the St. Kitts Grammar School in cricket, athletics, table
tennis, and netball. Other male members of the MSS team were John Wilson, Anthony Maloney, and Oswald Cassell to name a few. The netball team included Millicent Inez Daniel (who subsequently became my wife), Vera Roach, and Clarestine Piper, who subsequently married Bill’s brother Sam whom she also met at that sports event. Given their roots in Montserrat, it was something of a novel experience to have met Bill and his brother Sam at that point in our lives. Many friendships were formed during those interschool sports tournaments which have lasted for a lifetime. So, Bill and I kept in touch for many years after by the occasional letter and through mutual friends.
My friendship with Bill, and by extension his loving and devoted wife Gwen, solidified during his attendance at U.W.I., Mona, Jamaica, beginning in 1969. At that time, he was now married and living very close to campus. At the
same time, I was a graduate student having transferred from a Canadian university to do research at U.W.I. My close friend and colleague Dr. George Irish was then lecturing in the Department of Spanish, not having left U.W.I. Mona since he and I had first graduated in 1965. Thus, began an amazing and enduring friendship that has literally lasted all our lives.
Much will be said during this service of thanksgiving about the various aspects of Bill’s life as an accounting professional, a trade union executive, business manager, educator, a family man, and a humanitarian. I will only note that the success Bill and Dr. George Irish achieved in the areas of trade union development in Montserrat, education, and business development, flowed
naturally from the unconditional trust and confidence that they had in each other.
As a former Permanent Secretary in the service of the Government of Montserrat, I had to interact with Bill when he managed the Development, Finance, and Marketing Corporation (DFMC) and subsequently the Montserrat Water Authority, both Government statutory corporations. His management style reflected his personality, and in many respects his Christian faith. He was always very professional, always fair and respectful to both co-workers and
customers, and spoke truth to power if and whenever necessary.
In most circumstances, his engaging sense of humour would surface at some point. As I end this tribute to my colleague, I must make this observation. In the course of my entire life, I have noted that small children seem to have an innate capacity to assess human personality. From very early childhood, our three children, Maxine, Derek, and Lisa, regarded their ‘uncle Bill’ as a very special person, a sentiment that has prevailed throughout their lives
into responsible adulthood. He and Gwen would normally visit on a Sunday afternoon. Our children never forgot his booming voice as he announced their presence, and the laughter and the friendly banter that would pervade their visits. In essence, Bill was a happy person, something which children and adults could easily respond to and be embraced by.
Last of all, Bill was a man of deep Christian faith, and would discuss at length whatever God expected us to do as believers, and what Christ had done for us. On behalf of my children, Maxine, Lisa, Derek and myself, I wish to convey sincere condolences to Bill’s wife Gwen, his children, grandchildren, all his extended family and his many friends. We are fully persuaded that he rests in peace.