THE SAD sounds of sobbing swept across the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex yesterday as hundreds gathered to mourn the loss of two teen friends – gone too soon.
Faces twisted with agony, and eyes were red from crying, as mourners leaned on each other for support, as they said farewell to two 17-year-old youths who died in a tragic car crash on the ABC Highway, on June 15.
Shane Hayden Downes of No. 14 Callender's Court, Callender's Main Road, Christ Church, and Dwayne Miguel Michaud of Yearwood's Road, Mount Standfast, St James, both students of Deighton Griffith Secondary School, were among five people who died in that accident.
Two large screens brought to life scenes from the past when the boys were in their element.
Tributes flowed freely as students, some dressed in school uniforms and official sports gear, told tales of their beloved friends, that brought some smiles to tearful faces.
In a tearful tribute, Hayden Downes remembered his last night with his son, Shane.
"The night before he died he came to me and said: 'Pap, come give me a hug and a kiss. I patted him on the back.... If only I had hugged him back the night before he died, I would feel a lot better now," he cried.
Downes, a reinsurance manager of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados, lovingly recalled planning to have a child; being present at Shane's birth, and obtaining a "masters" in changing diapers, preparing baby food and distinguishing between his son's different cries.
He then watched him grow into a loving child, who had a special relationship with his mother and other family members.
"That boy has come a long way and now he is gone too soon," the father sobbed.
He recalled his son's love for sports.
"I missed none of his football games that he played here. I missed the ones overseas and that was because I was financing the tour," he said.
He said he secretly admired his son, but lamented the fact that he never told him.
In the second tribute, the congregation was told that Dwayne's mother never got the chance to see her son baptised as was his intention.
Eulogist Felix Pearson said only a few weeks had passed since Dwayne called his mother and told her he was going to visit her in St Lucia for the summer and be baptised so she would be proud of him.
The young man, known by his friends as "Lucian" because of the accent he obtained while growing up in St Lucia, was also described as a "ladies' man" who promised to wed all the girls and teachers at his school.
Dwayne too was described as a family person, who would often call on his mother to assist him with any challenges he encountered.
Reverend Dr Michael Crichlow told the congregation that one of the realities of life was there was a time to be born and a time to die. "We must prepare for it."
He said preparation took the sting out of the reality of death.
Crichlow also implored the youth in attendance that they were not too young to accept God and live their lives to please Him.
"Sometimes teens go through life feeling that nothing can happen to them. Take one lesson from this – the frailty of life – and handle it with care and value your lives," he said.
Downes and Michaud were laid to rest at the Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens, hours after husband and wife, Leon and Audrey Walcott, who also perished in the accident, were buried there .
The third student to die in the fatality, Alex Everette Jordan, 16, of No. 21 Maxwell Hill Development, Christ Church, was buried after a thanksgiving service at Abundant Life Assembly in Bank Hall, St Michael, last Wednesday.
