Dr. Roy Ibbott, the proprietor of the Channel 19 Television Station at Corriverton, died of a heart attack at around 3 am yesterday.
Later in the day, he was interred according to Muslim Rites. Describing him as an intellectual with a sense of humour, Dr, Vibert Cambridge, Professor at Ohio State University and also a close friend, said that Ibbott had a great love for his country. “He is what Stanley Greaves calls a ‘Guyanist’”, he said adding that Ibbott must be remembered for the pioneering work he did in the local television sector. Dr. Cambridge stated that he was blessed to have known him. Enrico Woolford of Capitol News said that Dr Ibbott was genuinely interested in the development of television in Guyana “from a Guyanese perspective”.
“When I returned to Guyana in 1982 having studied the industry in the US and Britain, I recall Roy Ibbott, his colleagues Vibert Cambridge and Ave Brewster all working to try to jumpstart television productions and stations in Guyana. It did not work out in the way the trio wanted but at least they all tried. I am saddened at his passing”, Woolford said.
Dr Ibbott had been an International consultant and head of the now defunct Guyana Management Institute.
He is survived by his wife and four children.