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| Pall Bearers with Hector's Commissioner's Hat and Sword on casket |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS (JULY 12TH 2004) – St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas said Friday that late Supervisor of Elections, Mr. Oriel Hector has left “an indelible track record of selfless commitment, loyal service, dedication and hard work.”
Dr. Douglas told an overflowing congregation at a Service of Thanksgiving at the St. George’s Anglican Church in Basseterre, that Mr. Hector’s public life reflected his true character in the love for his country and fellow men.
“His experiences as a public servant have run the gamut of our nation and are testaments of trials and challenges of a country struggling to take the right steps at critical junctures in its development,” said Dr. Douglas.
Prime Minister Douglas described Mr. Hector, who was first appointed to the Public Service
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| Firing Squad |
in January 1958, as a “loyal obedient servant of the State who answered the call of duty at critical times in our history. It was in the worst or best of times that he received the call for professional training and preparation for leadership of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.”
“In serving the Force, he was instrumental in moulding many law enforcement professionals some of whom are in the Police High Command, upholding the constitution and providing law and order, peace, stability and security within the shores of their troubled land. And then he moved on, as he always did, to a new assignmemt at the next level in the development of our country,” said the Prime Minister, who added that Mr. Hector was “always flexible, ever adaptable and ready to rise to the challenges.
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| Governor General's Deputy, Mr. Edmund Lawrence lays wreath |
He described Mr. Hector’s service as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health as helping to shape policy and improve the quality and delivery of Health Care in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Mr. Hector also served as Personnel Officer at the St. Kitts Sugar Manufacturing Corporation (SSMC) and the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) and as Supervisor of Elections.
“Mr. Hector’s dedication and commitment to service were reflected in every aspect of his short life. He rose from the ranks of a family whose members undertook what it meant to be motivated servants of the people who were inspired by the joys of rising to new challenges and going beyond the call of duty,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who paid tribute to Mr. Hector’s wife, Dorothea Hector, a former dedicated and devoted public servant who he noted has provided him with the requisite moral support to perpetuate that deep sense of moral fortitude and selfless sacrifice which he demonstrated his professional career.
Expressing condolences to the bereaved family, Prime Minister Douglas assured the Hector Family the Nation’s “loss of a father, husband and brother because St. Kitts and Nevis has lost a loyal and dedicated and favourite son.”
“We will miss his commitment, his sense of public duty and we will long remember him for placing his country’s needs sufficiently high on the personal agenda of his life, evidenced in the many sacrifices he has made in tribute to his Nation,” Prime Minister Douglas concluded.
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| Mr. Hector's son, lawyer Stephen Hector lays wreath. |
Mr. Hector, a former Assistant Superintendent and Commissioner of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, was buried with full military honours. His casket, draped in the National Flag of St. Kitts and Nevis with his Commissioner’s Cap and sword, and flanked by a contingent from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, made its way to the Springfield Cemetery, where three volleys were fired by a Firing Party. The flag was presented to Mrs. Hector.
The Cabinet of Ministers attened as well as contingents from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force Band, the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority, St. Christopher and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services, the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force Coast Guard Unit and the nurses. There were also representatives from the St. Kitts Sugar Manufacturing Corporation (SSMC), the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis and the Nurses Association and the Electoral Offices in both St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Service was conducted by Rev. Alric Francis. The Eulogy was delivered by a son, lawyer Stephen Hector. Doreen Petty read from the Old Testament and Ken Hector, the New Testament.
The St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority in paying tribute to Mr. Hector said his “knowledge of his work was superb, and all who came in contact with him on the job shared in his immense wisdom.”
“Although a strong disciplinarian and advocate of good work practices, Mr. Hector was quite sociable and was closely involved with the Authority’s Sports and Social Club,” said the message printed in the booklet.
