Robert Brown

Editors note: On Thursday, June 16th 2011, Ernest C. Grindrod, was memorialized at St. Anne's Anglican Church, Fox Hill, Nassau Bahamas. The eulogy was given by Robert Brown and provided his kind permission to post it here as a tribute to a very fine gentleman.

Ernie was in a word loveable. And many of us are better for having had the privilege to call him friend. The pictures throughout show his great sense of humour and endearing personality.

Mr. Brown's tribute is simply wonderful and befitting such a special man as Ernie. I hope you enjoy it.

Farewell to Ernie

Good afternoon everyone.

When Judy asked if I would say a few words I accepted, but not before some hesitation, after all, as anyone who has ever done this knows, it is an awesome responsibility to try and capture the essence of a life in just a few words.  But Ernie and Judy have been my friends for many years so I accepted this duty, this privilege, with love and affection for them both.

Also, I must pause to say that Judy has been dealt a double blow in the loss of her Mother and Partner in very short order and I am in awe of her fortitude and resilience, in how she has borne up to it so magnificently.  You are an inspiration to us all Judy.

When talking to people about Ernie they used words like “jovial’, ‘funny’, ‘witty’, ‘engaging’, ‘friendly’, ‘always smiling’, ‘smart’, ‘a character’ and indeed he was all of these and more. I suppose I would sum him up like this: He was an erudite gentleman with an exquisitely English sense of humour who was fun to be around and it was a privilege to have known him and to have been able to call him a friend. I say ‘English’ because even though he lived the greater part of his life here in The Bahamas with us, he never lost his sense of identity and of the culture and history that formed his personality and I have a great appreciation for that.

I don’t remember when I first met Ernie, but I believe it was as a customer of the Boat Yard.  He was a customer for decades; I dare say a satisfied customer. We painted his bottom for him many times and I believe that my father and Johnny kept him going mechanically for years.

He also kept his boat at our dock, so we saw him often, because unlike a lot of boat owners, Ernie was an avid boater and used his boat often, so that meant that he also bought plenty of gas from us as well, especially with the last motor that he had, which although reliable (it was old enough to be a museum-piece by the time he eventually parted with it) was quite the gas guzzler.

So we saw Ernie frequently at the boat yard and it was there that I became aware of his Englishness, his friendliness and his sense of humour.  My brother Johnny used to make the two of us laugh with his impersonation of Ernie drawing heavily on the ever present cigarette and exhaling through his teeth as he said something like “Johnny, you’ve got to get the rhythm going on the top-hat, the top-hat (meaning the high-hat cymbal)!”  An encounter that probably took place as Johnny was undressing at either a dinner dance of the Royal Society of St. George or a Rotary Ball. Ernie would have responded with a laugh and said something like “you cheeky bugger!”

But it was when I joined Rotary in 1987, more specifically, The Rotary Club of East Nassau, that I really got to know Ernie. Like most new Rotarians, I treaded quietly, and tried my best to keep under the radar until I got to know my colleagues better, although this probably had as much to do with my inherent shyness.

In particular I tried not to attract the attention of the Sergeants-at Arms who were a particularly fearsome bunch back in those days, not at all like the benevolent crew which we have today, but I guess that these things go in cycles.  In any case, Ernie was one of the sergeants that I most looked forward to. But more on that shortly.

As I grew to know more about Rotary and our Club, eventually moving to serve on the Board, I came to know Ernie even better.

As a Board member and Treasurer for many years, he took particular pride in being able to present the accounts of the Club on a single page, albeit in microscopic font size (in stark contrast to the multi page tomes being issued today-with qualifying notes!).  I say that, not to criticize our present day Treasurers, undoubtedly things are more complicated today, but to reminisce about simpler times. At least I could more easily pretend to understand what was going on with the Club’s finances.

For most of the 8 years that I served as a member of the Board, Ernie always made a lively contribution to the proceedings, especially after a beverage or two.  Whether he was having white wine or something more fortifying, Ernie always made his opinion known, even when it was not to your liking and although we may have butted heads more than once, ultimately, we were better for it, as individuals and as a Club.

When all is said and done however, it was for his role as Sergeant-at Arms that most of us will best remember Ernie. Whether it was the shaggiest of ‘Shaggy Dog’ tales or the corniest of the jokes which he gleaned from the many “Corniest Jokes Ever” joke books which he collected religiously, I always looked forward to his stints as Sergeant….I think most of us did.  And if it is possible for a group to possess a collective ‘funny bone’ I think we always received him in the delicious anticipation of having it tickled.
But he kept us laughing even when not serving as Sergeant. We had a presentation about humming birds a few years back, which featured photos which Ernie had taken at his nearby feeder, and we learned that hummingbirds were a particular hobby of his.  We also learned that in addition to being able to hover, while beating its wings at an astonishingly high frequency, a humming bird could flick its tongue at an even higher rate.  A fact which vastly amused the members of our Club, although I am not sure why?

Another favourite occupation of Ernie was his legendary Scavenger Hunts/Road Rallies which in collaboration with Judy they composed for Inner Wheel fellowship events. A challenging combination of cryptic clues and minimal but significant geographical directions they were sure to entertain and drive even the most even-tempered to the brink of distraction. These rallies had us driving all over Nassau visiting places we were amazed they knew existed. I wish we had recorded some of the exchanges which I had with my family while we were negotiating their teasing clues. It’s amazing that we were even talking to each other at the end of these journeys.

In addition to serving on the Board for many years he also maintained an attendance record that was the envy of most, 25years +, ‘Perfect Attendance’, right up to and including a few weeks into his illness.  We even arranged a committee meeting of the Sergeants-At-Arms, in his hospital room, (it was quite legitimate!!) in order to keep his perfect attendance going.  But none of us, including Ernie, realized just how challenging this illness would be and that it would eventually cause this remarkable achievement to falter.

But Ernie was always with us in spirit and during visits would inquire as to the activities of the Club, how we were coping with, I mean adjusting to, women as Presidents and many other questions as well.

In the last few years when Ernie was confined to his room, Linda and I always looked forward to his vigorous wave as we took our evening walks past ‘Bayview’.  I know that I will still glance up to ‘his’ room as we walk by, to hail Ernie sitting in his chair watching TV or working at his computer.

So, with your indulgence, just to give you a taste of Sergeant-At-Arms Ernie, I will share with you, one of my favourite ‘Ernie’ tales. I will do my best to do it justice.

‘Why Paddy’s not at work today’ (click to read).

Tribute continued…

The other day I read an article that postulated that we pay for the luxuries and pleasures of our youth in our old age, but with 30% interest. 

Even if that is true, Ernie had a bargain of a life.

A life well-lived, full of love and laughter and vigour but repaid with interest through his charitable contributions to his adopted country through Rotary or The Royal Society of St. George or Bahamas Air Sea Rescue (BASRA).

Oh, and as a footnote, Ernie gifted his joke books to me for safe keeping …there must be a couple of dozen of them…an awesome responsibility indeed.  I shall do my best to be worthy of the privilege and I will use them in his honour…you have been warned.

Rest in Peace Ernie.  Rest in Peace!