Ex-Speaker Barritt laid to rest

Hundreds descended on Christ Church in Devonshire this week to remember political stalwart John Barritt.

Mr Barritt was laid to rest on Tuesday at his parish church in a ‘family service’ attended by scores of dignitaries and political friends.

The respected MP and former Speaker of the  House of Assembly died on May 13 at the age of 98.

The service was led by Canon James Francis and Mr Barritt’s son, John Barritt Junior, and his daughter Jennifer Johnson, spoke during the funeral.

Mr Barritt Jnr said: “Dad wished to be buried as lived … he eschewed the  pomp and the ceremony and the show that can often accompany funerals. He just didn’t care for it.

“He wanted his to be simple; at his home church, his family church here at Christ Church, Devonshire, and with Canon Francis officiating.

“The readings, the solo, and the hymns all reflect our father and the great faith that he had in the Lord.”

Mr Barritt added: “I hope that I have done my father justice here, as he told me to make sure the brain is in gear before the jaw is in motion and I have tried to do just that for him today.

“Many of us have remarked that our father had a good innings, having lived to age 98.

“Dad loved the game: he was a cricketer of some prowess in his time, an all-rounder who captained his club side and some Bermuda selects in his day. So he would have liked the analogy. He may not have been batting at the end but he was holding up the other end of the crease.

“And he amassed his total in a humble, quiet, workmanlike way, rarely demonstrative and always with a straight bat. He taught us that that was not only the way to play the game but to live life.”

Tuesday’s packed service was attended by a host of political figures including Premier Michael Dunkley, two former Speakers; Stanley Lowe and Ernest DeCouto, and the present Speaker Randy Horton.

Many of Mr Barritt’s old political friends including Quinton Edness and Jim Woolridge, also attended.

In her speech, Mrs Johnson said: “It is no secret — I adored my Father – always have done and always will.

“I loved his enthusiasm for life, his energy, his quiet loving, caring ways to all he came in contact with, his wit and sense of humour, his wisdom about all things in life, his honesty and respect for his fellow man and his absolute faith in the Lord.

As a little girl I remember his olive skin, his lovely thick dark hair, his smile and laugh, his hands and his legs. I always felt safe and comforted by his presence and even in the last few years when he was a mere shadow of himself, his physical presence was enough.”