Anguilla’s visionary and long-established architect, building contractor, and mortician, Mr. Hugo E. Rey Sr, was enthusiastically celebrated on Friday evening, December 30, 2016, having turned 80 – one of the special milestones of his life. A most active, able, well known, and respected Anguillian citizen, he was the recipient of glowing tributes at a grand and vastly-attended birthday party held in his honour at the Anguilla Great House.
A literary note, on the back page of the brochure for the event, captured many of Mr. Rey’s qualities and set the tone of the tributes for him at the delightful evening. Mr. Rey was described as someone who is “blessedly reliable, dependably good, predictable pleasant, loved and treasured by all and a gift of peace and tranquillity to many lives”. He was also described as being “a natural gentleman without trying…and a jolly good fellow which no one can deny”.
Anglican top Clergyman, the Rt. Reverend Errol Brooks, who raised the first official toast, thought Rey was very “calm and cool” as he had not ever “seen him ruffled in any way”. He continued: “He is indeed a real friend and one on whom you can depend. I have had occasion to talk with him on several matters. He is very intelligent and a man who is very forward-looking in his thinking…
“The 50th Anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution is coming up and I know that Mr. Rey played a key role in that revolution. I hope that when the interventions and all the speeches about the Revolution are being made that somebody would take the time out to talk to Mr. Rey and get his side of things.
“He was also instrumental in the building of St. Mary’s Church, and it was him who actually drew the plan and told me how things were put together for the construction of that church. In a sense he is ecumenical. He is supposed to be a Methodist but we lay claim to him as well, and we want to thank him for all he has done and is doing to build God’s Kingdom here on earth. His contribution to the Anguillian community on a whole is well-documented.”
Bishop Brooks was referring to Mr. Rey’s former management post at the Public Works Department (now restyled Department of Infrastructure) some years ago and in more recent years establishing of Rey’s Funeral Home – the first such mortician service in Anguilla. The Bishop summed up Rey’s wide knowledge and skill as that of a genius.
Chief Minister, Mr. Victor Banks, raised the second toast. He not only spoke about Mr. Rey’s contribution to the Public Works Department, but reflected that in earlier years, two friends – his father, Mr. Victor Banks, Snr. and Mr. Rey’s father, Mr. Wallace Rey – worked at the Agriculture and Public Works Departments respectively. He explained that it was from that background that he had come to recognise Hugo as a family friend.
The Chief Minister went on: “Among the things I can say about Hugo is that he is a very innovative and creative man. As a matter of fact, I think he is a genius because a lot of what he has learnt and become is a result of the fact that he is a very avid seeker of knowledge and information. There are a number of things that many of us, who were through the formal process, would have difficulty in managing such as drawing and civil engineering which he went into on his own initiative. As a result of that he headed up the Public Works Department at a critical time in Anguilla’s development, and I know the type of contribution he would have made to that department over that period. I was a young Minister of Government during that period when he was Chief Engineer at Public Works. He has worked in the private sector as well, and has done many things in this community.”
The Chief Minister added that over the years Mr. Rey, drawing from his wealth of knowledge, had provided him with very helpful advice on matters of national development on which he sought guidance.
The third toast was raised by former Chief Minister, Mr. Hubert Hughes. He spoke about his early school days with Mr. Rey and, later in life, when the birthday honouree made varied contributions to Anguilla and stayed on the island while others left their homeland “for greener pastures”.
Mr. Hughes continued: “He is a man of great vision and ability, and when you want any advice on construction or engineering you just have to call on Hugo Rey. He has done a lot to develop this island. When we talk about heroes and heroines of the Anguilla Revolution, Hugo Rey has been practically one of them. As the Chief Minister said, he was a local genius.”
Mr. Hughes also praised Mr. Rey for being a family man, noting that family life is the strength of Anguilla. He went on: “Hugo has added a lot to the strength of this society because, as everybody can see, he always has his family around him. He started a funeral business in Anguilla and has excelled the other islands in the region. The sophistication of his business is unmatched in the Caribbean, and so he is a special Anguillian who has done a lot by staying in Anguilla.”
The fourth toast was raised Pastor Iton Connor of the Blowing Point Fellowship Church who worked with Mr. Rey at the Public Works Department. “I have worked with many people on this island, but I recognise him as the only boss I have had,” he reflected. “The reason is that everything I have learnt, I learnt from Mr. Hugo Rey. He was and is a teacher; an advisor; and a counsellor.”
Pastor Iton recalled that he had been one of the first workers to lay a block at Rey’s Funeral Home. “As Bishop Brooks said, Mr. Rey is a genius and I believe that God has put him in this island for a reason. We can go to the length and breadth of Anguilla and Hugo Rey is a household name,” he observed.
Other speakers were Mrs. Ursil Webster-Brooks who chaired the ceremony having worked with Mr. Rey at the Public Works Department over the years; Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, Superintendent of the Methodist Circuit who performed the invocation and blessing; two of Mr. Rey’s children, Mr. Moran Rey and Nurse Monique Rey, who spoke passionately about their father and his influence on them and the rest of the family; and two other children, Mrs. Charmaine Rey Richardson and Ms. Carleen Gumbs who delivered the welcome remarks and Vote of Thanks respectively.
Responding, Mr. Rey expressed gratitude to those who came to honour him. He took the opportunity to call on Government to pass the required regulations to enable his new crematorium to function as an addition to his funeral home. He outlined the importance of cremation in these days of various communicable diseases. His remarks were well received and applauded by the many persons at his birthday celebration.
