There were three cultural and sporting features, worth mentioning, which marked the Funeral and Thanksgiving Service for 33-year-old James Kelvin “Kelloo” Webster at the Mount Fortune Seventh-day Adventist Church on Sunday, March 13.
The first, and perhaps most striking feature, was that for the first time there was a strong element of Anguilla’s national boat-racing sport factored into any funeral arrangement. Brian Richardson, a young generation boat builder, with family roots in Sandy Ground, designed and built Kelloo’s casket. This was an excellent tribute to Kelloo who has had a long association with boats and, up to his passing, was a worker on Calypso Charters, a local company operating a fleet of ferryboats between Anguilla and Dutch St. Maarten.
Brian has built a number of popular local racing boats such as Sonic, Stay Up, Superstar and Stinger, as well as Sahara, a ferryboat which travels between Blowing Point, Anguilla and the Dutch St. Maarten Princess Juliana Airport area.
“It is a long time now that I have been in the boat-building business, but many people didn’t know about this,” the tall boat- builder chuckled as he spoke to The Anguillian. “I have had family members, like my great uncle, Magduff Richardson, who used to build schooners.”
As to Brian’s building of the casket resembling a racing boat, he commented: “I tried to do a combination of a boat and a casket. It is something unique because I wanted to do something special for Kelloo. So I made a boat to look like a casket and I think his family appreciated it very much. Kelloo did everything. He was in boats, mechanics, and many other things. As the Pastor said at the funeral service, Kelloo was a big helper to everyone. No matter what the problem was, he could have helped you.”
The curved top of the boat/c
asket was a picture of beauty. “It was made from regular white pine wood so I could have easily bent it and shaped it how I wanted,” Brian explained. He was aware that it was likely that in addition to requests from persons to build regular sleek racing boats for them, that some of the enquires may also be for the building of similar boat-like caskets – like Kelloo’s – for persons who have been involved in boats.
The second feature at the funeral – this time outside the Church – was a fine array of gleaming motorbikes, of various models, lined up at both sides of the hearse, waiting to lead the funeral cortege to the Sandy Hill Cemetery. Kelloo was a keen motorcyclist and was regularly seen travelling with club members at daytime, and on moonlight nights, across the island or attending certain social and cultural events. Th
e motorbike accompaniment by members of the Kool Riders MC and Thunda Cruzerz was a fitting tribute to him.
The third feature was an arch formed by pool sticks symbolising Kelloo’s passion for the sport of pool-playing – at a recently-established and popular sports facility, in The Valley, owned by Dedric Webster. The boat/casket was taken under the arch of pool sticks into the hearse. That, too, was another fitting tribute to Kelloo.
The large gathering at his funeral and thanksgiving service was also a great tribute to him. It was in recognition of the deceased’s many community activities, interactions with large numbers of people, generosity, social and cultural engagements and his enjoyment of life, despite the personal speech and hearing challenges he faced – and overcame – a fine example to others.
Kelloo, the son of Hyra and Stephen Webster, of Island Harbour, and brother of a number of close-knit siblings, unfortunately met his death in the sea at Shoal Bay on February 20, 2016.
