Dear Editor,
One year has passed so quickly but the loss and hurt is still fresh. If only he had more time. Nothing prepares one for sudden death.
There are so many words to describe the late David de Caires. He was first and foremost a family man, patriotic Guyanese, approachable, hardworking, fluent speaker, stood up for what he believed in and cared for his extended SN family. Whenever he entered the SN compound he would always say hello to every one present, and he mixed comfortably with persons from all walks of life.
From lawyer to newspaper publisher to professional beggar, those were his words when he undertook to upgrade the Camp Street Avenue as a millennium project. A man for all the people he went into each yard located on Camp Street between Quamina and Church streets explaining his plans and inviting them to a meeting. Thus Camp Street is what it is now.
A man of many hats – at the time when he decided to participate in the renovation drive for the Theatre Guild Playhouse his Stabroek News workload included that of Chairman, Editor-in-Chief and to some extent managing director. Editing 40 to 60 letters per day was his baby.
Between all those responsibilities he always had time to see any member of staff who requested an audience.
He considered them his extended family. If a member of staff was not looking well, he would enquire what the problem was and if necessary he would pour a full glass of water and give them two paracetamol.
Mr de Caires got his final wish. He always said to me that he would like to go to bed and that’s it. It was a hard blow. There are so many little phrases I recall him saying like `Boat gone ah fall can’t turn back’ and `It’s not the end of the world’ whenever there was something wrong with that day’s paper.
Yours faithfully,
Doreen Jeetlall
