Vernon “Foffie” Williams was a “people’s person”. That was the view of his brother, Earl Williams, who delivered a tribute yesterday during a thanksgiving service to celebrate the life of the former Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) board member at St George Parish Church.
Williams passed away on April 21 at the age of 80.
Scores of Barbadians attended the service where they paid their final respects to a man who touched the lives of many in various ways.
Among those who attended were BCA president Conde Riley, former presidents and West Indies cricketers Joel Garner and Cammie Smith, retired banker, cricket administrator and diplomat Tony Marshall, former West Indies cricketer Gordon Greenidge many more from the cricket family, along with Goverment ministers Donville Inniss and Esther Byer Sukoo.
Friends, including former principal of the Alexandra and Parkinson Memorial School Jeff Broomes and attorney Vernon Smith were also in attendance at the service which was conducted by Reverend John Rogers and Reverend Suzanne Ellis.
The husband of Antoinette Forte-Williams, father of Chaynie, Varia and Khevyn Williams and grandfather of four was a member of a number of boards, which included the National Petroleum Corporation, the National Housing Corporation and the Barbados Mortgage Finance, the Public Services Commission and also a director of the Barbados National Bank and the Flower Forest of Barbados.
He held the positions of BCA treasurer and ordinary board member, the chairman of the board of management at the Combermere School and also tutored accounting at the ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels.
“Vernon would have to be a people’s person in order to be so successful in all of these organisations. He was a proud but humble man. He was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding Barbadian citizens to come from St George. If you came to him for advice he would willingly give it and if you took it he would support you with his time, talent and treasure (not necessarily in that order). But if you don’t, he would say ‘I dun wid you,” said Earl Williams.
He also took time to reflect on the life of his brother as a child, mentioning fond memories of him as the sixth of ten children.
Vernon, who gained a Silver Crown of Merit for his contribution to the public service, community and sports in 1999, also played cricket for Empire, Carlton and Sheffield, first division football for Empire and field hockey for All Stars and the national team. (RG)
