Patrick Da Silva, ‘Legend’ of Barrouallie community, passes

The community of Barrouallie has lost a “legend” of a man with the recent passing of Patrick Da Silva.

The 81-year-old died on the morning of Sunday, September 3 after battling a terminal illness and has left in his wake a wealth of fond memories shared by his family and those in the Central Leeward community.

September 28 would have marked his 57th wedding anniversary to his wife Monica with whom he had six children. Two of his children died tragically, with two remaining in SVG and two residing in the US.

Da Silva, who was originally from Park Hill held a number of titles during his lifetime – businessman, Justice of the Peace, Deacon of the Roman Catholic Church and during his formative years, electrician and Supervisor of the Richmond Vale Power Station.

His daughter Suzette said he regarded his role as father and husband as central in his life, and this was reinforced in her mind when made the bold decision to leave his job at St Vincent Electricity Services Ltd (VINLEC) in 1981. The decision came after he made a request for a transfer from Richmond to be closer to Kingstown as three of his children were about to enter secondary school. When that request fell through, and after some persuasion from his now deceased brother Dennis Da Silva, the family left Richmond where they had lived since 1975 and moved to Barrouallie.

M DaSilva & Sons, a wholesale and retail shop, was established shortly after the move and still remains in operation today.

Suzette said her father, whom she nicknamed ‘Rev’, held his devotion to God and the church as the foundation of his life.

“From every since I know myself, my father was all about church. He never drifted.”

It was this, she believed, which motivated Da Silva to come to the aid of so many in the community, teaching them to drive, doing handiwork for residents and also giving whatever he could to help out those in need.

His closest employee and Barrouallie resident, Fay Williams said those in the community regarded him as somewhat of a “legend” and they saw, time and time again, his kind and giving nature.

“No matter what, even though he may not have to give, he doesn’t like to turn down people. He would give whatever little bit he can just to make the person happy. He was a great person and a good boss. We may have our little arguments at times, but he always give up his rights for peace.”

In a tribute posted to social media, Edson Reece credited Da Silva as the man who “helped to build the town of Barrouallie”.

Reece said Da Silva passed valuable business knowledge down to him, adding he was the person who “taught me about mark up, profit and such”.

The father of two echoed sentiments of other Barrouallie residents about Da Silva’s kindness and love for family.

“The man who taught me how to patch a pot with flour. The man who taught me about caring for family…”.