‘He has left a void in all our hearts’ - Slain security guard remembered for his sweet words and kind heart

Although he had long aborted his quest to become an entertainer by the time me met Georgia, Lawrence 'Mark' McKenzie fancied himself as a lyricist and held nothing back as he approached the woman who later became his wife.

"'If you a lizard, mi a the limb, if you a the rat in the cupboard, mi a the cupboard, if you a the tire, mi a the rim,'" McKenzie is said to have told Georgia when they met more than 20 years ago.

The uttering of the "sweet words", which McKenzie reportedly whispered to Georgia and won her heart, brought smiles to the faces of mourners who packed the Rehoboth Apostolic Church in Portmore, St Catherine, on Saturday to pay their last respects to the slain security guard.

McKenzie, 53, was killed on February 27 by armed men who attacked him and two other Beryllium colleagues as they attempted to service an ATM in Portmore, St Catherine. According to his sister-in-law Karon Gunter, Lawrence never felt like going to work on that fateful day. However, being the dedicated employee that he was, he left home for duty.

"This is a terrible loss. One that the family and friends will never ever forget," Gunter said.

McKenzie's cousin, Dieka Nash, in a pre-recorded remembrance, described him as a devoted family man. She said that he built his family's dream house from sweat, tears love and laughter.

"He has left a void in all our hearts, a hole that can never be filled," said Nash of the man they called Hog Head.

In her emotional tribute, Nash recited Michael Josephson's poem, What Will Matter, which caused mourners to deeply reflect on the life led by the departed security guard.

She read: What will matter are not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.

It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.

Nash then outlined, in glowing terms, how family members, friends and co-workers said McKenzie impacted their lives. His mother, for example, described him as "an obedient son who listened and never complained, even when he wasn't in agreement". He was also remembered by siblings and other family members as caring, good-natured and kind. He co-workers said that in addition to being fun and full of life, McKenzie was "a man of integrity who always sacrificed and put the need of others before himself".

McKenzie is survived by widow, Georgia, three children and three grandchildren.