Dear Editor,
When I heard about the death of one of Guyana’s stalwarts, Ivan Crandon, I was jolted into the reality of how temporary our time on this earth is. Mr Crandon, or as I used to call him, Uncle Ivan, was one of those personalities that has defined who I am. I will take it even further and say that he has played a heavy role in the moulding of our family.
You see, Uncle Ivan and Aunt Ada were good family friends of my father, MH Chan, aka Buddy Chan. The tightness of that friendship extended to us children. As much as Ivan Crandon has been a public figure, every bit the epitome of what it is to be Guyanese – Assistant Com-missioner of Police, Chair-man of the Police Commis-sion, Community Developer, etc, etc, – he was a man who valued and cherished the special bonds of friendship. This friendship saw no economic or racial barriers. I remember times of my father visiting Uncle Ivan’s home at Perseverance, and how we kids used to play in the yard. I especially remember the pear guava tree and how sweet that guava was. I remember Uncle Ivan explaining to me how the contraption in his back yard, with the pipe leading up to the stove in the kitchen was a means of using the methane from the animal waste. This was the first lesson on the benefits of renewable energy, and thirty years later a cornerstone to stem the tide of the global warming phenomenon.
I remember the times when Uncle Ivan and Aunt Ada would visit us either at Grove or at Good Faith, Mahaicony by the waterside. They and my father would sit for hours just ‘shooting the breeze.’ Most of all I remember, and am so tremendously grateful to him, even though it has been twenty-six years, for being there when our father was tragically killed on the East Coast road. It was one of the worst vehicle accidents at the time, where our East Mahaicony district lost five persons, my father included. From the time my sisters and I arrived at the airport to the time we left, Uncle Ivan was with us, taking care of all the necessary arrangements in conjunction with our family. He was true family. I am still not ashamed to say that his presence with us during those trying times was our father’s replacement. Uncle Ivan, I hope you are able to spend eternity with God, arm in arm with our daddy, Buddy Chan, just ‘shooting the breeze.’ Aunt Ada, on behalf of myself, Yasmin, Fawzia, Isha, Zamin, Nazreen, Reza and Rozan, please remember even though we are far away, you will always be in our thoughts and prayers. We do wish we could be with you at this time like you and Uncle Ivan were with us. May God continue to shine his blessings on you and the rest of the family.
Yours faithfully,
Sharir Chan