Hundreds pay tribute to Walter Jones

HUNDREDS of mourners turned up at the All Saints Anglican Church yesterday to pay tribute and say their final goodbyes to 74-year-old Dr Walter Jones, who died at the St Clair Medical Hospital last Wednesday.

The wide cross-section of the community who were at the service stemmed from the fact that Jones was a serious educationist, avid sportsman and faithful Masonic lodge man.  Among the number of QRC Old Boys, past Government officials, sportsmen and former public servants were Emmanuel Carter, Reginald Dumas, Ainsley Mark, John Donaldson, Anthony Smart, Deryck Murray, Gus Ramrekersingh, Overand Padmore, Anthony Campbell, Desmond Cartey, Zalayhar Hassanali and the Cumberbatch boys, Nigel and Raphael. Attorney at law, Henley Wooding, paid glowing tribute to Jones in his eulogy. He spoke of Jones going to London as a youngster to further his studies in Math and Physics. Upon his return to Trinidad, Jones went to teach at Presentation College in San Fernando before moving to Queen’s Royal College (QRC). Wooding said QRC was the inspiration of Jones’ life in those formative years.

However, during the sixties, at the start of the schools’ expansion project, Jones accepted the challenge and became the first principal of the Arima Government Secondary School. He eventually retired from the teaching service in 1989. Woodley said Jones had the capacity to receive and respond to situations and would give meaningful comment or advice during his teaching years while also being a great father to his four children. But as serious as Jones took his teaching, he had an equal passion for sports, mainly cricket, football, basketball and tennis, some of which he actually played. Jones also held administrative positions in the Colleges Football League, the TT Football League, the TT Umpires Council and was a member of the Queen’s Park Cricket Club.  Wooding summed up Jones as honest, sincere, kind, serious and at the end of it all, “Well done!”

Officiating at the service were the Rt Reverends Clive Abdulah and Rawle Douglin, Reverend Canon Claude Berkley and Reverend Father Carl Williams, while a collection was taken up for the QRC Old Boys Association for its school restoration project. Jones’ body was later taken to the  St James Cinerary for cremation. Jones, whose wife Shirley passed away two years ago, leaves to mourn his children Judith, Gillian, Susan and Stuart and his three grandchildren.