HONOURABLE JOSEPH MEADE
A Tribute
Some people are remembered for the flamboyance of their life of pomp and grandeur; others for their loquacious and avaricious behavior; yet others for their self-centered and merciless exploitation of their fellow human beings. Joseph Meade was none of these. He respected all of his people, young and old, rich and poor, privileged and underprivileged.
He will always be remembered affectionately, first, as the soft spoken educator whose cultivated speech style distinguished him from his peers and neighbors. His gentleness of personality is recalled by some of his former students in his role as a disciplinarian who would flog with his left hand for minor offenses, and with the firmness of his right hand for more serious misconduct. He did not raise his voice in anger, but reserved the volume for his teaching, preaching and singing.
He served his country well, sometimes in areas that did not catch the eye of the crowd. He was a pioneer leader in the Montserrat Union of Teachers (MUT) in the early 80s, and in the Montserrat Trade Union Council that promoted educational and organizational collaboration among bodies like the Montserrat Allied Workers’ Union (MAU), The Civil Service Association and the Montserrat Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Union in the late 80s and 90s.
He also served as the President of MAWU’s Montserrat Co-op Credit Union after the departure of its founder, Dr J. A. George Irish, continuing until it closed its operations in the late 80s to offer members the opportunity to integrate into the St Patrick’s Co-op Credit Union so it could more effectively serve the entire island.
His various roles in scouting, public education, religious education, church ministry, community development, labor relations, politics and the legislative system all bear witness to a level of personal commitment to service to youth, country and humanity. (Scout Master, Headmaster, Methodist lay preacher, St George’s community leader, President of the MUT, Speaker of the Legislative Council).
With humility and unflinching loyalty, he served his country in the highest echelons of the government ladder.
He lived an honourable life, and touched hundreds of lives directly and indirectly; another true son of Alliouagana whom this country respects and honors.
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