Till death do us part

Polly Surajdeen loved her husband, Valentine, very much. For 45 years, she had been at his side — on the job and in the kitchen. While Polly watered the flowers in the backyard of their St Augustine home, Sona fed the fishes, and the dogs. She called him Sona only among family, but he was Tex to the public, Valentine to few and “daddy” to his children. Fourteen days before their 46th wedding anniversary, on February 23, 2004, the bond was broken. When Polly learned of her husband’s death, she ran into the room where he lay, and holding him firmly, she repeated the words, “You didn’t tell me anything..! Why?”

She was a private woman. Despite her children’s attempts to shield her from the loneliness she often felt by showering her with gifts and the attention that she insisted on, Polly still retreated to her room and cried. The day before her death, Polly insisted that Dave, their only boy and eldest of five children, take good care of his health. She said she was pleased by the unity she saw among her children. Just three weeks after the death of her husband, Polly passed away. In a short space of time, Dave and his sisters Vera, Valerie, Valentina and Victoria lost their parents. The romantic love they had observed for so many years had ceased to exist. Tex, 67, died of cancer. Doctors say Polly, 70, suffered a mild stroke — her children believed she died of a broken heart.

Up until his death, Polly cooked her husband’s meals, spoon-fed him and prayed silently at his bedside. Tex was also a victim of Parkinson’s disease and had been bedridden for some time. “After his death, she became very distant. She would sit and stare in silence. You would ask her if she missed him and she would say yes but would not go into details,” said Dave. “We pampered her. Her kids took turns in taking her out. Everybody would do something different with her, either take her to get a facial, or to the hairdresser, or to buy plants.” Tex, founder of Texprint printery, met his wife at a socks manufacturing company, once located in Champs Fleurs. He was the socks machine operator and Polly was his supervisor. The story has it that Tex was “a real charmer.” They never confided in their children how they fell in love, but after a few months of courtship and despite their difference in religious beliefs, Tex and Polly were married on March 8, 1958. According to Dave, the two worked as a team henceforth, and lived a colourful life. Tex later changed jobs and moved from driver to production manager at the now defunct “Super Service” printery. Polly quit her job to take care of her newborn.

With a wealth of knowledge of the printing business Tex acquired on the job, he, with the support of his family, decided to open his own printing business. “That was in 1985. He had a dream and people advised him against it because the country was in a recession. But he and his wife decided that if it was just to pay the mortgage, they would start the business and everything would be alright.” Polly dissuaded Tex from naming the business Pollyprint. “She was a behind-the-scenes person. While he was president and CEO, she stayed in the background controlling the finances.” In the first week of the business, the Surajdeen’s provided free service to the community. “If someone walked in and said they needed tickets printed for a barbecue for a patient with a hole in the heart, he would do it free of charge. Dad was about teaching people and empowering them.” Today, 18 years later, Texprint Limited boasts of being one of the first in the region to become computerised in the design arena, in in-house colour separations, digital printing and recently, digital imaging.

Tex has been able to secure major clients in the business world and counts as a highpoint in his printing career, furnishing Prince Charles of Wales with invitation cards for a cocktail party in England. He loved sports cars and once owned a Jaguar and an MG Midget. Polly never developed a liking for speed, but the two loved visiting Maracas Beach, if only to have bake and shark at Richard’s. “They would sit and eat and not talk, but simply enjoy each other’s company. They loved animals,” Dave said. Among their pets were dogs, love birds, Frederick the parrot, and Oscarlito the gold tiger Oscar (fish). “Mom used to sit and talk with Oscar. Oscar was very, very sociable. He’s two years old and about 12 inches long. He would splash around in the aquarium and one time she had ignored him all day and when she decided to talk to him as she was leaving, in telling him goodbye he just splashed his tail and wet down her whole blouse. She had to change her top.”

Although she was a Hindu, and her husband Presbyterian, Polly believed in universal religion and would always give her children advice on life. “She always believed in solving issues. She used to say swallow yuh spit and make up even if the person did you wrong... “Dad on the other hand had a good sense of humour. He was a good cook too, and would put down a nice garlic crab.” Tex was also a sharp dresser, and since he was known for wearing “these fantastic colognes,” the girls would shower him with numerous gifts of colognes. Tex was also associated with FEEL and last year, he was the recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Award presented to him by the San Juan Rotary Club for his charity work. Tex and Polly are grandparents of five children.