His ready, gracious, broad and contagious laugh, showing a full set of teeth, will long characterise him in the memory of those, far and near, who were fortunate to have known, and shared this transitory life with him.
The Reverend Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, was a very special person in Anguilla where he was born in North Hill Village in 1945. There, he grew up among his peers and, like them, attended schools outside the village.
A product of the Valley Secondary School, then the highest level of education in Anguilla, he began a teaching career at public schools, starting at East End. But, eventually, his innate spiritual yearning and Methodist background led him into the field of theology. He became, what may be described as a second generation of Anguillian Methodist Ministers, following in the path of several senior nationals who blazed a trail across the Caribbean and further afield well before him.
Welcomed to Anguilla, September 2013
Very much loved and admired in his native Anguilla, and across the rest of the Caribbean, he was a gentleman of the highest esteem, steeped in humility and the traditional virtues: love, respect and family life in Anguilla. He rose to much prominence in church, community life and education, becoming a proud son and patriot of Anguilla whose people, of every Christian persuasion, and other walks of life, now deeply mourn his sudden and shocking passing on Friday night, September 25, 2020. He will live on in our hearts.
As a preacher, he was both influential and blunt in the delivery of his carefully-prepared and well-researched sermons. He was frequently sought after by many individuals and organisations to perform invocations and homilies at various public and private events, including national services where, overall, he left his listeners spellbound.
Aside from his religious pronouncements and messages, his widespread knowledge of history often came to the fore during his various deliveries. He was a known advocate for the remembrance of the enslaved who were captured in the African plains and jungles, and forced to travel in the holds of ships, during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, to labour fields in the West Indies. He often referred to several national sites in Anguilla, including Methodist Church buildings, historic wells and other places, as monuments of slavery which needed preservation.
To him, Anguillian ancestors, who shed their blood, sweat and tears, were ever-present as guardians of the past as well as of the future.
The following are some salient biographical notes prepared for this sad occasion by The Anguillian newspaper.
Reverend Dr. Wycherley Gumbs was born and educated in Anguilla and was originally from North Hill Village. He was a former student of The Valley Secondary School which preceded the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School. After teaching in the public schools, starting at East End, he entered the Methodist Ministry and served the Church from 1972 onwards.
He began his ministerial studies at the United Theological College of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica, an affiliate of the University of the West Indies. He served in the Jamaica and Leeward Islands Districts, and the United Methodist Church in the United States. He was the Minister of the Methodist Church in Nevis from 1982 – 1988. He was appointed the first Principal of St. Andrew’s High School in Dominica in 1979. In the early 1980s, he completed graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity Degree, and at the University of Pittsburgh with Master of Education and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees.
He was appointed Chairman and General Superintendent of the Leeward Islands District from 1988 – 1993. From 1994-2007, he served the Government of the United States Virgin Islands in the Departments of Human Services and Education as a Counsellor. He also lectured at the University of the Virgin Islands in history, politics and philosophy.
Reverend Dr. Gumbs was transferred to St. Kitts in 2007 as Superintendent of the Methodist Circuit. In 2013, he was appointed Superintendent of the Anguilla Methodist Circuit, though at retirement age. For the past seven years, he has provided exemplary service in church and community life, winning the respect, admiration and love of all and sundry.
Born in 1945, he was among a second generation of Anguillian Methodist Ministers who served in the Caribbean and further afield with distinction. He was a gifted and influential preacher as well as a prolific writer and publisher of plays, poems, biographies, religious and historical works. In 1995, he was nominated a distinguished member of the International Society of Poets. Up to his passing he was a member of the UWI Alumni Society in Anguilla, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School. He is sadly missed and irreplaceable.
Reverend Dr. Wycherley Gumbs and his Anguillian widow, Mrs. Stella Gumbs, who is originally from Sandy Ground, have parented four children and four grand-daughters.
May his soul rest in peace.
