Barbados’ latest centenarian, David Gordon Murray, has been described as a product of his era, a man of faith, and a giving soul.
Murray, an accountant by trade, celebrated his big day on Tuesday in the presence of his church family and President Dame Sandra Mason at the Homestead Senior Citizens Residence, King’s Walk, Marine Gardens, Christ Church.
Family friend Madam Justice Fiona Hinds said his sterling service to the Anglican diocese in the region cannot be overstated.
“Mr Murray is a committed person; he is committed to what he says, he is committed to what he does, he is committed to how he does it. He is a true accountant, and because of that he was treasurer of the [Anglican] Diocese of the Windward Islands, for more than 50 years, and travelled through the Windward Islands to deal with each of the churches to make sure that their accounts were in order.
“I think that is a testament to the man he is… that you can do that for 50 years continuously, you are not removed, and at the end of the day you are only respected more for it. It’s something that young people ought to be able to aspire to,” she said.
Justice Hinds has known Murray most of her life, not only through the church, but also from living in similar areas in Belleville, St Michael where her grandfather also owned a home.
She described the centenarian as a “giving soul” who was always ready and willing to share whatever he had with those who were in need.
“He is a product of his era; all persons in that era tend to be careful – they tend to be careful to their values, careful to who they are, careful in their thoughts, and on a whole carried themselves in a way that can be emulated by every generation to come. That is who he is,” Justice Hinds said.
“Mr Murray gives. So if he had somebody who was around him or worked with him that even needed somewhere to live, he provided somewhere to live. Or he provided relief of debt, so he has cleared many a mortgage…. He is a giving soul beyond himself.”
Murray had no siblings and no children.
“Mr Murray is the only child of only parents. The church is his family, so in the church, he was able not to be the only child of only parents; he was able in that moment of Christian fellowship, to have brothers and sisters who share faith as he does, but also share in the same concepts, the same values that he has, in the same way that a family theoretically ought to,” Justice Hinds said.
(SB)
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