Delivered by Mr. Charles Wilkin.

QC At the Funeral at St Georges Anglican on Thursday 11th January 2018”.

I have the permission of Patsy to refer to our departed brother as Marley which is the name by which he was fondly known by her and by his school mates at the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School. That name followed him throughout his illustrious career in banking and his legendary sporting career.

Marley was born in St. Kitts, the fifth of eight children of Harcourt Hector, originally from Antigua and resident here as a Police Officer in the Leeward Islands Police Force, and his wife Doreen of the Wallace family from Nevis.

The Hector family lived at Baker’s Corner, which placed Marley in close proximity to Warner Park, where no doubt his name will in time grace one of the stands. Living in proximity to the park was a distinct advantage because the work day ended at 4 and football matches began at 4.30 pm.

Marley attended the Basseterre Boy’s School also in close proximity to his home.
It is noteworthy that his Headmaster was William Dore, who was famous as a teacher, a disciplinarian and a promoter of sports. As did many of the outstanding sportsmen and other successful citizens who started at the Boy’s School, Marley benefited from that primary education. He moved on to the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School where he was a good, disciplined and well behaved student. One of his class mates refers to him as a wizard in maths and logic. He passed the Cambridge School Certificate and spent a year in the sixth form. He did not need the equivalent of 10 or 15 CXC subjects to excel in his career. No one really does. He benefited from the focus at the time of providing children with a rounded education with participation in sport and other organized extracurricular activities being compulsory.

Marley was part of a group of students of the Grammar School who when not at school or playing a game would congregate at the top of Fort Street or on the Greenlands wall to socialize. They were very good at heckling each other and passersby, all in good fun of course. They developed a form of dialect called “Trim” which combined words and phrases of Latin, French, Spanish and English and became popular in the school. It was unintelligible to the uninitiated which frustrated many adults including the teachers of whom we could make fun without them realizing. New words and phrases were being created all the time. Trim was truly a work of art.

I mentioned at the beginning the house system at the Grammar School. That system was not limited to sports. Points could be gained for your House through a variety of activities even from picking cotton grown at Bird Rock before that area was fully developed for housing. Competition between houses was very intense and there were house competitions at every level in every sport.

Marley was also a proud member of the School Cadet Corps which added to his rounded upbringing and helped to prepare him for his productive life. And I might mention for the younger among us that the students built the tennis and basketball courts at the school and often had to prepare the cricket pitch for house matches. I mention also that the Grammar School team played in the top divisions of club cricket and football. Marley was playing against the best in the island in both sports by the age of 15. And he was a star. Large numbers of schoolchildren went to cheer on the school teams whenever they played. Marley thrived in that camaraderie and atmosphere.

After leaving school, Marley taught for a year at the Basseterre Senior School. He then moved into banking which he made his career working first for the Industrial Bank and then for Bank of America.

He married Patsy Simmonds on 18th September 1969 at the ripe young age of 24 reflective of his maturity and serious nature. They have two children Dwayne and Deirdre whom they nurtured and loved at their home at Harbour View. He leaves two grandchildren Tyla and Tye of whom he was very proud and who have inherited his sporting genes. Patsy has fond memories of their good times together.

Marley was a good father. He had a unique relationship with each of Dwayne and Deirdre. He was always available for them with guidance and advice as they grew and in their adulthood. He followed their progress closely throughout and was giving advice even in his parting days. Deirdre describes him as her “shrink”. The children in the Harbour View neighbourhood were very fond of him but wary not to misbehave in his presence.
Marley had a good relationship with all his siblings. He was very close to his younger brother Ken.

After Bank of America closed its doors in St. Kitts, Marley moved into management with Bank of Commerce before taking the position in 1981 of General Manager of the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis. The Bank was established to facilitate and encourage savings and investment, to maintain and finance manufacturing and development enterprises, to promote small business enterprises and to provide loans for tertiary education. Marley’s personality – intelligent, humble, low key but firm, patient, calm, compassionate, patriotic, disciplined and a team player, together with his banking acumen- suited him ideally for that role in which he excelled until his retirement in 2006 after 25 years of service to the Bank. Under his leadership the Development Bank grew to become the important contributor to economic development that it was conceived to be. Marley also served for 30 years as a trustee of the FND which has paid a glowing tribute to his contribution to that important organization which is reproduced in the Funeral Programme.

Marley’s commitment to the community led him to join the Rotary Club of St. Kitts of which he was a member for over 30 years and served as a director and President. His contribution to the work of Rotary in our community was recognized by the award of Paul Harris Fellow a distinguished recognition among the membership of 1.2 million Rotarians in 200 countries throughout the world. Particularly in his younger days Marley was active in the many hands on projects undertaken by the Rotary Club in St. Kitts. Wherever he went in the island on those projects he was fondly recognized for his sporting achievements and his management of the Development Bank.

Now a look at Marley’s legendary sporting career. He represented St. Kitts at cricket, football, tennis and golf and if the island had a table tennis team he would have been first selected. He was also good at athletics. He represented and captained the Leeward Islands at cricket and should have made the West Indies side. The best opportunity he had in 1969 was cruelly frustrated by the captain of the Combined Islands, a fellow Kittitian. The reminscences of Marley in the local media have included references to the abominably unfair treatment referred to. It raises my blood to mention it. But not once in the 48 years since did I hear Marley mention it. He took it stoically. That was his way.
Marley made his debut for St. Kitts while in his teens and played in the strongest teams ever produced by the island which dominated the Leeward Islands tournaments in the 1960s. He led the St. Kitts team to that championship in 1973. The photo of him proudly holding the Hesketh Bell Shield is in the programme.

The same year Marley represented the island in the Davis Cup the major international tennis tournament. He joined Lionel Berridge and Mackie Jeffers in that team which played in the Bahamas.

As a footballer Marley was a legend. He terrorised defenders and goalkeepers with his quick and mazy runs from either wing and his powerful shots with right and left foot. The crowd buzzed with excitement when with his hands outstretched he signaled the beginning of one of his runs. Every young person interested in football at the time copied that famous move.
Marley played for the Grammar School in the first division of the local league. He and his schoolmates then on leaving school formed Santos (in the famous white with maroon) which immediately began to dominate the league.

Their matches, particularly against Manchester United which featured the Shine brothers, attracted thousands of spectators, yes in the afternoon right after work because there were no lights. Nor was there TV to watch the international players. Marley, his Santos captain Nelon Bowry, the Shine brothers and the other stars of the time received very little coaching and relied on natural talent and sporting intuition. Marley was always followed to and from matches by young fans who idolized him. It is said that they would not allow him to carry or tie his own boots. The top teams at that time were as good as the best teams now in this age of coaching and TV and participation in regional and international competitions. I am yet to see in St.Kitts a better Kittitian winger or forward for that matter than Marley.

Just as his amazing one handed catch down the leg side off Basil Butcher in 1966 can in St. Kitts cricket history be justifiably called “the Catch” so can his goal direct from a corner with a swerving banana shot be called “the Goal”.

In 1975 at Warner Park before a huge crowd St. Kitts was 2-1down to Antigua with less than ten minutes to go when Marley took over. He ran circles around the Antigua defence. We won 3-2. I had the honour of scoring the winning goal but I just had to tap the ball in as Marley had left the whole defence on the ground. It was a joy and privelege to play with him.

Marley was a boss of the steeplechase which was a major athletics event at the Grammar School in those days. He also ran for Red house on sports day.

After his retirement from the contact sports Marley resorted to golf. His competitive spirit would not allow him to play that sport only on a leisurely basis. His golf colleagues have written a short tribute to him which you will find in the programme.

As you have heard in the preceding tribute Marley returned to cricket in his later years taking the reins of management of St. Kitts and Leeward Islands cricket at a critical time.
What was not said is that as soon as he had successfully completed the reorganization of the Leeward Islands administration the other islands turned on him and ousted him from the Presidency and from the seat on the West Indies Cricket Board which was their real goal. Marley took that betrayal in stride because he was not after power and position but wanted to serve the game he loved so much.

Marley was always highly respected by his former schoolmates, sports mates, work colleagues, Rotarians and wide array of friends who admire his modesty, soft spokenness, calm demeanour, discipline, thoughtfulness and
perceptiveness. Everyone close to him with whom I have spoken since his death highlight the fact that he was very private and a non complainer which perhaps explains why he was able to keep his fatal illness from so many until close to the end. He was a man of faith who expressed that faith in his worship at the St. Georges and St. Barnabas Anglican Churches. May the memory of this outstanding national and phenomenal sportsman be truly recognized here on earth and may his soul rest in the eternal peace of our true home.