Jimmy’s legacy: living well, leaving peace

The funeral for Jimmy Christopher, 86, father of six, was held at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Malabar on July 28. He was honoured in a eulogy delivered by his eldest daughter, Faye Benjamin née Christopher, and his son, David Christopher

Faye: Born in Siparia on April 14, 1939, to young Evvy Chase, Jimmy Christopher was brought up by his grandfather and hero, Edward Chase—a trained teacher, active in his own Methodist church.

Jimmy’s education began at three years old and his love for literature and elocution surfaced, winning him prizes for recitation, a fact reiterated by his daughter, Anne-Marie Doyle who recited his favourite poem, ‘The Touch of the Master’s Hand.’

An avid amateur sportsman and middle-distance runner—good at football, cricket, and track and field—I remember sitting in the middle of the track picking buttercups, while Dad trained. For years, he continued running, until he could not run anymore.

Dad had a very particular view of age and ageing. Whenever I called to wish him ‘Happy Birthday’, he delightedly announced that he had been blessed with bonus time, having already achieved a full lifetime of three score and ten.

I live in the USA so when I called him on my 40th birthday, he informed me that I had finally become an adult. I was speechless. In his wisdom, he thought true maturity only comes with the gift of time and lived experience—and Dad was big on lived experiences!

As an engineer, Daddy viewed book learning as extremely important, acquiring official qualifications in mechanical engineering but he subscribed heavily to the value gained from practical experience—being able to do something with that ‘book learning.’

Together with his wife, Netto, the couple loved, guided, and sheltered a quiverful of honorary Christopher ‘children’ who either spent time or grew up in the Christopher household—aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbourhood kids, youth group, college, and university friends. My father welcomed them all! (Boyfriends…not so much).

My father believed in practical outcomes over theoretical musings, that we all have a social responsibility to make things better and do what we could, with whatever we had, for anyone God put in your circle of influence.

He believed that you do not get to complain about the state of the community if you were unwilling to participate in making things better. Extremely generous with both his time and his money, he became involved in Lion’s International, the St Vincent de Paul Society, supported a youth group and engaged in community leadership through the Men’s group, the Parish Council and the Church Building Committee where he led initiatives for social improvement. He was even elected Malabar RC Men’s Ministry Man of The Year in 2006.

David: I remember my father’s scholarship to a commercial school in Siparia, and his pursuit of his City and Guilds Certificate in General Draughtsmanship at San Fernando Technical Institute. Following my father’s marriage to my mother, Inacia Netto Granado in 1960, they migrated to London where Jimmy furthered his studies in Mechanical Engineering and worked for Wimpy International.

However, the family returned to Trinidad in 1967 when, following his application for job postings in Africa, his father discovered that he would not receive equal compensation and benefits as his white colleagues. After a three-year stint with Wimpy in Trinidad, he set up his own construction company, SCORE Engineering.

As an engineer and entrepreneur, Jimmy Christopher loved his work, allowing his own work experience to influence his philosophy for how workers should be treated. He prioritised fairness, safety, and quality workmanship and ensured that his workers were treated with dignity and fairness, insisting that they got their wages promptly, whatever the state of his own coffers; which could be quite low, when clients did not pay on time.

Dad was a serious, very strict but fun-loving, adventurous parent. He loved to camp. While in England my parents camped throughout the European continent in a Morris camping van and we once travelled to New York where Dad bought a station wagon and the whole family, including one of our honorary Christopher brothers—Gerry Grant—drove over to Canada for a camping trip throughout Quebec with nothing but a road map and lots of enthusiasm!

In the year of his retirement, although he was already over 70, he headed off to Ghana with my brother, Allan, because he had always wanted to visit West Africa, believing it is better late than never!

Dad’s greatest virtue was his commitment to personal integrity. If he did not approve, he did not pretend otherwise. He was direct and open with his disapproval and eloquent in his expression of such. He told us that he wanted to live in peace with himself and his neighbours, saying, “When I come home, I do not have to worry about my safety or the safety of my family, for I will never defraud anyone or cheat my workers. I do not have to hide in fear of revenge because I always try to act with personal integrity. This gives me peace of mind.”

Jimmy Christopher was a man who aimed to live well. And he did!

Daddy, we have been privileged to see you live up to your code of honour to the best of your ability. We pray that now you can experience that everlasting peace!