This special edition of the Jamaican Tory is written in
tribute to one of the most dynamic Jamaican patriots who has ever lived, a man
who has truly demonstrated what it means to be a good leader and a good
citizen, who’s example every Jamaican can truly take inspiration from, one of
the few remaining from an older generation of leaders who saw this country
through turbulent times and who passed away last week at the ripe old age of
98, I speak of non-other than The Most Honourable Sir Howard Felix Hanlan
Cooke.
The Jamaican Tory was truly saddened to hear of the passing of
Sir Howard though to be frank was not entirely shocked given the evitability
that it must happen one day notwithstanding, it would have been nice to see the
former Governor-General hit the 100 mark, but apparently that was not to be. Being
a fan of medieval literature both fictional and historical, the term true
knight comes to mind when describing a man like Cooke, he really did represent
all the values that knighthood was supposed to espouse, traits such as loyalty,
honour patriotism, courage, a man who loved the people and was loved by them in
turn, defender of tradition, an advocate of monarchism and a faithful
Christian, it’s little wonder he was knighted twice. The likes of him will hardly be seen again.
Sir Howard is best known for his political career which included
being a member of the West Indies Parliament, sitting both houses of the
Jamaican Parliament on different occasions, his many years of service as Minister of Education and President of the Jamaican Senate which eventually led
to him being given the highest office of
the land as the Queen’s representative, the Governor-General of Jamaica.
Sir Howard’s contribution to this country is a most
invaluable one, he started out as a lecturer of Mico College helping to train
the next generation of educators before moving on to become one of the founding
members of the People’s National Party which would see him serving in the House
of Assembly and later in the West Indies Parliament, Sir Howard was even part
of the bi partisan committee that drafted our present constitution.
What I find really interesting about Sir Howard is that
regardless of his membership within the PNP, he was never subscribed to leftism
of his colleagues, indeed during his time as Minister of Education during the
1970s, he was positively alarmed by the socialist direction that Prime Minister
Manley was taking the country in. Regardless of his misgiving he was no traitor
and stayed loyal to his party serving with pride as Minister of Education
helping to make several reforms in the educational system of Jamaica, which he
was well in a position to do given his intimate knowledge of the system which acquired over the years during his time in the teaching profession, thus earning him
the nickname, Teacher Cooke.
From 1991 to 2006, Sir Howard Cooke had the distinction of
serving as Governor-General of Jamaica. A position he excelled in, in fact Sir
Howard was the very epitome of what a Governor-General should be. He and Lady
Cooke transformed Kings House into a place where every citizen from all walks
of life would feel welcome and made it truly a home fit for a head of state.
Sir Howard as Governor-General demonstrated in his conduct that the highest
position in the country was available to every citizen and as a representative
of the Crown was a powerful unifying symbol in his own right. Regardless of his
popularity, the GG never sought to usurp the Queen’s position as some
politicians certainly would have done if given the chance, in fact Her Majesty
has never had a more loyal man in her service, as the old knight was among the
first to go on the attack whenever the idea of a Jamaican republic was bandied
about and did everything he could to present the Queen as the “Jamaican
sovereign who simply lives in Britain” while making it clear that
republicanism has no place whatsoever in Jamaica.
Aside from the political and teaching careers, Teacher Cooke
also served as a church elder and lay minister for the United Church in Jamaica
and Grand Cayman, thus his Christian beliefs was a great influence on his life
and the values that he chose to espouse in his life time. He work tirelessly to
defend the preservation all parts of this nation’s culture and everything that
made it great, from our varying traditional art forms and folklore to our Christian
heritage and monarchist values.
Sir Howard Cooke
without a doubt was the very demonstration of what it means to be a servant of
God, Queen and Country and was well beloved by all, he lived his life
selflessly, tirelessly serving the good of this country in his many capacities.
His passing is truly a great loss to us all and he will be sadly missed but as
the old saying goes, walk good Sir Howard, until we meet again.
Well articulated!
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