EDUCATOR LLOYD AUSTIN, 75, was laid to rest today with tribute paid to him by his daughter and the service conducted by a former colleague.
Austin spent 24 years as principal of the Grantley Adams Memorial School having also taught at the Barbados Community College and the University of the West Indies. He was also a member of Toastmasters, Lions and Leo Clubs and the Scout movement.
At the St Lucy Parish Church hundreds gathered for the funeral service and interment of Austin who originated from the parish. Those paying their respects included dignitaries, Ministry of Education officials, educators, prominent members of the St Lucy community, police past and present and community workers.
Austin, his daughter Natasha Holder said, was a person who believed in education and felt that it raised up those who took hold of the opportunity. His staff, students and children, as a result of this belief, were assured of receiving training, she said.
Her father was always aware of current affairs and whenever he argued a point, it was well researched, Holder told those on hand.
She said that it was fitting that her father who spent a month hospitalized died on May Day, since he was also a firm believer in the labour movement and was a founding member of Coalition of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados.
In his address, Reverend Keith Griffith, told mourners that Austin’s approach to education was nurtured by his faith, as an Adventist.
He called for a return to Christian principles within schools.
“Never must Christian values be abandoned, and never must we perceive that there is no room for religious education in our schools. Our schools could benefit from a revival of Inter-School Christian Fellowships,” he said. (AC)
