St Thomas residents plan proper funeral for Donovan

In a touching display of compassion and solidarity, a group of St Thomas residents has come together to organise the funeral of a a well-known and beloved man with intellectual challenges.

For years, Donovan Sinclair was a familiar face in the streets of the parish, especially in the capital Morant Bay, where he was known for his distinctive style of walking along the roads often pretending that he was driving a vehicle. Even though he was homeless, residents described him as kind-hearted and always willing to give a helping hand.

"Donovan is well-loved I can't even use the term 'was' because we are still hurting and having a hard time accepting that he's gone, because he is a staple of everybody's family," retired Superintendent of Police Velma Thomas-Gayle told THE STAR yesterday. She added that Sinclair was unlike any other homeless man she ever encountered.

"He is fun to be around, he will talk to you and give his jokes. If you give him something, he says thank you and he'll open the doors for the ladies. Like me, once I'm at the vehicle, he'll open the door for me and seh, 'Let me put you in the vehicle' and he'll tell you 'Have a good day' and you can count on him and know that he is going to be around," Thomas-Gayle said.

Unfortunately, the amicable Sinclair met a painful end. According to reports from the Corporate Communications Network of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, 52-year-old Sinclair was found dead last Friday at approximately 9:25 a.m. on Weymouth Drive in Spanish Town, St Catherine, with a wound to his side. The news sent shockwaves throughout St Thomas, leaving those who knew him deeply saddened. Thomas-Gayle also told THE STAR that in addition to his family, Sinclair was well cared for by St Thomas residents.

"Donovan is so loved that he's never hungry, somebody is always feeding him. He's not going naked, he's always getting clothes, and he has relatives abroad that will send money to a particular restaurant, and that restaurant ensures he's fed. But everybody feeds Donovan just the same," Thomas-Gayle said. She said that Sinclair slept at several places at nights, whether at a 'poor house', in a church yard or in the old Lodge building in front of the Morant Bay Police Station. Because of his playful antics on the road, some motorists often asked where he was heading, and offer him a ride, sometimes into the Corporate Area or parts of St Catherine. However, they always ensured that he made it back to St Thomas.

Determined to give Sinclair the respect he deserved, six residents, including Thomas-Gayle, and Senior Superintendent Raymond Wilson, along with two of Sinclair's relatives, came together to spearhead the planning of his funeral, so that he would not have a 'poor man's funeral'.

"It is because of the love that we have for him that we don't want to see nobody dig nuh hole and put him in. He meant so much to this parish, to all the communities in St Thomas, that all the people in St Thomas are putting together," Thomas-Gayle said.

"The type of funeral that we want to give him is a proper funeral, a state-like funeral. A statement is going to be made out of it because the person or persons who did whatever they did to him, we want them to realise that when you see people out there, if you don't know them and they don't trouble you, leave them alone because he's well- loved," Thomas-Gayle added.