Sylvester laid to rest following private funeral
Former acting High Court Judge and Queenâs Counsel Othniel R. Sylvester was laid to rest yesterday morning, following a private funeral service at the Chauncey Methodist Church.{{more}}
Sylvester died on Saturday after a long battle with cancer.
He was a Speaker of the House of Assembly from 1966 to 1968, a Member of Parliament and Minister of Government from 1972 to 1974, and Director of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank from 1984 to 1986.
He was a former president of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Bar Association.
Sylvesterâs wife, Natalie, pre-deceased him by only seven months.
He was the father of prominent lawyer Nicole Sylvester and engineer Trevor Sylvester.
At the time of his death, Sylvester had been disbarred from practising law in the OECS.
High Court Justices Frederick Bruce-Lyle and Kenneth Benjamin ordered in June 2007 that he be struck off the roll of barristers and solicitors.
He was at the time the most senior lawyer at the local bar.
The judgement resulted from a February 2004 civil lawsuit by Danish foundation, Faelleseje. The foundation sought to recover EC$5,212,500 reportedly expended for the purchase of a parcel of land at Orange Hill Estates.
The foundation also commenced the court action seeking to discipline Sylvester.
The justices also ordered that Sylvester pay Faelleseje the money claimed plus five per cent interest per annum from December 1993 until the money are paid.
Sylvester was also given six months to pay in full and had also been ordered to pay costs of EC$40, 000 to the plaintiffs.
After embarking on a career in the teaching profession that spanned the years 1948 to 1956, Sylvester switched careers when he enrolled with the City of London College, University of London, to read for a degree in law.
In 1958, Sylvester was awarded First Class Honours with a distinction in Public International Law. That year he graduated from the Inns of Court (Inner Temple) Law School with Second Class Honours.
He was called to the Bar of England in 1958 and to the St Vincent and the Grenadines Bar the following year, 1959.
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