Nassau, Bahamas - The following are the Remarks by Fred Mitchell, MP
For Fox Hill at the funeral of Frank Edgecombe JP,
25th November, 2013:
It is an enormous privilege to be able to speak at
the funeral of my late friend and brother Frank Edgecombe. His quiet presence was always there in the
background as long as I have been the MP for Fox Hill: Not a lot of flourish
but always great substance. He has left a legacy for Fox Hill. It is one I am
proud to help to continue.
We come to bury today Frank Leopold Edgecombe, a son
of Fox Hill, and a standard bearer for The Bahamas. He was what Pindling once
called a man of ordinary means who in a generation was able to transform
himself from a little boy from Fox Hill to an exemplar of his village. I am a
promoter of the PLP’s story of social mobility. That you can go from one social
level to a higher one within a generation to the next.
Mr. Edgecombe was born with little but he took that
little and transformed it within his lifetime into an empire that he was able
to pass on to his children and grandchildren, a whole street named after him. We
have to recommit ourselves to making sure that this continues to be the story
of The Bahamas.
I recall for you now the story I told when we were
naming the street after him. I had my majority in 2007 reduced from 1200 down
to 60 or so. I was crestfallen. He said to me, “brother Mitchell, you only have
to win by one.”
When in 1977, the PLP was looking for a candidate in
the general election of that year, the choice seemed to go automatically to
him. The party elders kept talking about this man who was a well-known teacher,
who had been the principal of the Sandilands School and that Frank was the man that
they wanted. They chose their man and he won the seat and kept the seat for ten
years until he was succeeded by the late George Mackey.
Such was his value to the Party that they asked him
stay on in 1987 for another five years and he served with distinction as the
Vice President of the Senate.
That is the barebones though of a political and
civic life. The obituary speaks to his lifelong support of the Baptist faith
and the leadership at Mt. Carey Baptist Church to which he is now fully
reconciled.
This was a man of indefatigable energy. One day, I was passing along the Prince
Charles Drive, not so long ago. I looked up on the roof of a church edifice and
there in his very senior years was Frank Edgecombe up on the roof putting on
the final touches. He was a builder.
He passed that on to his sons, just as he passed on
his passion for teaching to his only daughter Norma.
In death I would like to say that my recollections
of Mr. Edgecombe are not sad ones but happy ones. He was always there in
support of whatever we in the PLP were doing in this area. He was a party man,
and he asked for little in return. He gave of his time, talent and money. For
this, the local branch is deeply appreciative.
I would like to say that Mr. Edgecombe came along in
an era that was once described by Edison Key, the now MP for South Abaco. Mr.
Key said that in his day all he needed to do was call Pindling and before the phone
was down, the request was carried out.
It is to that era and that manner of public policy to which the
younger people of our country now look to this generation of politicians. Too
often, we are saying no instead of yes.
For example, with the death of Mr. Edgecombe yet
another Justice of the Peace for the Fox Hill area is gone. There is a need for
many of the Justices of the Peace to be named and rest assured this is a matter
to which I am dedicated.
The people of Fox Hill see the Sandilands School,
the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre and the Fox HiIl Prison as the natural
place for them to work. That too is something to which I am dedicated.
The PLP created the constituency of Fox Hill in the
1968 general election in tribute to the people of African decent and their
discrete development that they preserved
and protected. It is that legacy that we still work to protect today. We have
to support the young people in this community in that spirit so that they buy
into the fact that this is a community for them and one to be nurtured and
protected. That is why we are all dedicated to putting them back to work.
Let us all on this day dedicate ourselves to making
sure that we can yes and not no to any to their requests.
As we move toward the campaign of 2017, I would like to think of it as campaigning on
the basis of Frank’s list: A wish list which he had of his beloved Fox Hill
that he fought for with quiet and fierce
determination as a PLP whether in or out of the government.
I have had the benefit of his wise counsel, of his
friendship, of his brotherhood, of being an extended part of the family, of
knowing his boys, his grandchildren, his daughter.
Frank Edgecombe did not just bring promise to the
PLP, he brought numbers: his boys, his daughter, his grandchildren; true
believers.
One of Norma’s boys has the political bug and in
that respect takes after his granddaddy, a true believer in an age when few
believe in that kind of way. So the baton is passed.
Thank you Frank Edgecombe for your life of service
to Fox Hill and to the wider Bahamas. When
you were called to step up the plate, you never wavered. For this our village
is grateful.
May God bless you, your wife Clementina and all the
family in this their hour of bereavement. We will ever pray.
God bless you all. God bless Fox Hill and God Bless
the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Bahamas State Recognised Funeral for Frank Edgecombe