Agri expert laid to rest

Hundreds of Barbadians said farewell yesterday to one of the island’s better known agriculturalists, Keith Laurie.

The occasion was a memorial mass for the straight-talking and at times controversial Laurie, held in the packed St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Bridgetown.

Members of the farming community, businesspeople and parliamentarians were among the mourners.

Delivering the eulogy, former diplomat Peter Laurie said his older brother had many and varied interests and was a leader in several areas, among them championing the plight of poor countries; the management and genetic improvement of the Black Belly sheep stock in Barbados; the protection of the environment and sustainable development; and the preservation of the island’s built heritage.

He said Laurie played “a pioneering and innovative role” as chemist, sugar technologist and international consultant in sugar industries in the Caribbean and worldwide and had been a key figure in the rum industry. (TY)

Please read the full story in today’s SATURDAY SUN, or in the eNATION edition.