Bishop of the Diocese of Roseau, His Lordship Gabriel Malzaire has described former Principal of the Saint Mary’s Academy, the late Cuthbert Elwin, as an individual who had a positive impact on many lives.
He was laid to rest at the Roman Catholic Cemetery on Wednesday.
A number of government officials, including Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, students past and present, teachers, parents, and others attended funeral service to say their final goodbyes. President of Dominica, His Excellency, Charles Savarin, also attended the service.
“Mr Elwin was not a perfect person but I am certain that each one of us here will remember him for something great, for something good. His bereaved spouse Desiree surely will remember him in so many ways,” Malzaire said.
He noted that Elwin had spent most of his adult life at the SMA and, “I will certainly agree that SMA is better for it.”
Bishop Malzaire stated that Elwin’s involvement in sports, his relationship with the students and the staff and even his imposing stature will be greatly remembered and missed.
“While he is gone from us physically, he will certainly continue to live in our minds and in our hearts, but most of all let us pray that having his failing forgiven, he will live with God forever in the heavenly beatitude,” he noted.
In a eulogy his wife, Desrie, described Elwin as a man who had a great passion for teaching and love for students.
Elwin became principal of the SMA in 2003 and remained there until his death.
He was 61 at the time of his passing.
ORA ET LABORA
RIP SIR
RIP SIR
Amen Amen you have lived well daddy and touched the lives of soo many young men.. We were blessed to be chosen to be your daughters for the lord gave you many sons. Let the him welcome you into his kingdom with open hands daddy. Thank you for the strength, thank you for the independence and for all the great memories your legacy will live on forever.
We celebrate your death as a new beginning.
Love Kymo
Rest in Peace, Sir Elwin. I will forever remember you.
RIP Sir
May his soul rest in peace .He was a very honourable man,hard working .He will be greatly miss .And I would like to tell his wife continue the legacy of your husband whether you are principal or not.He will be very proud of u if u do so Rip Mr Cuthbert elwin
You will forever be in my heart, you were not just my boss, you were my friend. Rip my dear friend Mr. Elwin.
I personally found it distasteful that Bishop Malzaire on 2 occasions referred to Mr.Elwin as not having been a “perfect person” and had his “failings”. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Every human being, including Bishop Malzaire, is not perfect and has failings. That is a given so why so insensitive to the family of the deceased?
well i never take this guy’s preaching seriously anyways. They should have made one of the Priest do it. The Bishop is an academic, not a preacher or a leader.
I suppose you know more than the Bishop does.
These days there are more disrespectful people in Dominica than ever who have no respect for authority. They pounce on every word they state and criticize them. You are one of them. Your problem and that of other critics is, you cannot face reality. You do not want to hear the truth. Yet, the truth must be told. God will have His way through his chosen ones. It is something you and the critics will never understand because you lack godly enlightenment.
If I heard the Bishop make that statement, I would not criticize him. I know it is a reality that no one is perfect. There are some who visibly project their imperfections.
When you stand before God for your judgment and the truth will be revealed to you, you will see the reality of all what you scorned and criticized
We are to strive for perfection while we are alive. Why not commence now before it is too late for you?
Ha ha ha. I agree totally. Can you believe the Bishop read a New Years’ homily from a tablet one year. SMH.
That also goes for you. Some of you love to scrutinize every word and criticize. Do you think you are perfect without failings? Is anyone?
God knows how imperfect you are, how many failings and times you committed them and how many more as you live. You cannot hide them from Him. Therefore, you should not criticize the Bishop.
Of course, as a human being, he was not perfect and had failings. This is telling the truth about a human being, not to debase him and use against him. He simply stated a fact which could be said for all of us. Others may have stated that. This does not mean he did not practice some sort of kindness during his life.
I love to repeat what a Toronto Priest once stated in his Homily, “Everyone annoy others. Even perfect people annoy others.” How true! This does not mean it is a sin in the eyes of God. It all depends on the type of imperfection.
I have a book which is entitled: “Some people are more perfect than others.”
I am still in shock and grief has enveloped every fiber in my body. We have lost a great man. My days at the St. Mary’s Academy was always filled with joy, laughter and a desire to learn and achieve great things because of my personal relationship with Sir Elwin. I will never forget the encouragement he gave me to partake in our calypso competitions at the school. He actually named me “The Molecule” and with his help I was able to capture two calypso crowns at SMA and one Junior Monarch title. the one thing I always admired about him was his ability to switch from fun to serious business in a short space of time. He truly was a “no nonsense” educator. He was always took pride in seeing his students excel academically and also in the field of athletics. He will definitely be missed. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Sir Elwin will always be to me a man that has helped shaped my life. And I want to say thank you Sir.
May he rest in eternal peace.
A photo of the deceased would be interesting to see as many people don’t know who he was> RIP.
A few weeks ago, after he died, DNO posted his picture. Did you not see it? Furthermore, that article is still on DNO. Access it and you will see his picture.