Remembering the late Heskeith "Dadie" Fergus

It would be remiss of me if I didn't pen a few lines on the passing of Heskeith Fergus, better known to all his friends as Dadie, who passed away on February 5, 2016 at the Dominica Infirmary after a long period of blindness.

Born on King George V Street in 1936, Fergus was a well-known cricketer and footballer, a dedicated grounds man for many years serving the Dominica Amateur Sports Association (DASA) and the Dominica Grammar School (DGS). The quality of his preparation of cricket pitches and the marking of football fields were unquestionable.

Fergus could be described as a grass roots cricketer and footballer; he played as a young boy in the backyard on King George V Street and then moved on to Windsor Park; like many of us he played for Combermere and Celtics. He was selected on the Dominica team that toured St. Lucia in the 1961.

My association with Fergus during his boyhood days goes back to the games we played under the trees and in the backyards on King George V Street where I was also born; and being his senior we used him mainly to retrieve balls hit under the cellars during our games. As bad as this may sound to you he learned a great deal from that which later made him the cricketer he was.

Cricket never had a more loyal servant.

Dadie was also a dedicated member of the karate community in Dominica.

To his sisters Mando and Iris and brother Zingy I offer deepest sympathy.