CJ celebrates life of 96-year-old father

His widow Moulda led the congregation which included Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, Assistant Commissioner of Police Tobago Garfield Moore and Snr Supt Joanne Archie, along with staff from the Judiciary. Archie was praised for his religious beliefs, his frequent presence at church and his role as a family man and worker.

In his 25-minute eulogy, the Chief Justice reminisced on life with a father like Ivanhoe. “There has been an outpouring of love and support which has comforted and sustained us which is touching and testament to the generational impact of a truly remarkable life and a life that was lived in extraordinary fashion,” he said. He noted it was extremely hard to summarise the life of his father in a few minutes.

“It is important to keep him alive, because what we have going forward are just memories. He was sometimes difficult to love up close but he always tried to be a man of honour and for those of you struggling to understand Ivanhoe Archie, all I could say is goat don’t make sheep,” he said. The Chief Justice said his father was keenly competitive but with a keen sense of fair play.

“It didn’t matter objectively how well you had done, second place was just never good enough. Looking back though I could see what drove it, it is that he really wanted the best for his children. In that regard, it was almost like he lived vicariously, conscious of the opportunities that he had missed, it was important to him that we had that. I suppose it paid off as his two children have three professions between them. Brian is a trained pharmacist and I am a bit confused, and of his five grandchildren, two are medical doctors, two engineers and the other a lawyer and I know that he was filled with immense pride and I am really happy that he lived to see all of that come to pass,” he said.

The Chief Justice said having grown older and become a father himself, he has gained a different perspective of the challenges facing black men. “I have come to realise how similar we are in many respects.

We all have an incomplete emotional and psychological toolkit and we don’t get a handbook for navigating this stuff that we call life.

“I think daddy did a pretty good job and so for me it came pretty easy as I got older to forgive whatever perceived shortcomings he had or mistakes he had made along the way. I hope that my own children will forgive me and come to understand as well the deep love that burns in my heart for them.

I am grateful that God kept daddy alive long enough for us to have some adult conversations and I can truly say that unlike many men I know, I do not have any outstanding issues or unfinished business with my fathe