Tribute to Joseph Nathaniel Crick

12.OCT.07

Our father’s family was of American Indian descent – whom we suspect were Creek Indians (pronounced Crick) – from Louisiana. Hence our family name. The lineage is traced to Joseph Crick and Mary Crick. They migrated to St. Vincent (via Barbados) in 1873. Joseph Nathaniel Crick was born on January 18, 1909 to Fredrick (Pappy) Crick and Leofreda Roberta (Gussy or Mammy) Crick. He was the last survivor of his siblings, who included two brothers and eight sisters.

He was married first to Molly Dowers, and when she died on August 27th, 1955, he later married Mary “Almaida” Wyllie. These unions resulted in the following daughters: Jean Yearwood and family of London; Judith Nyapadi and family of London; Joan Lewis and family of St. Vincent and London; Myrtle (Junie) Crick and family of New York; Linda Crick and family of Florida. The sons were: Clive Crick and family of New York and Florida; Carl Crick and family of Toronto; Fredrick (Eldon) Crick and family of Virginia; Cuthbert (Julian) Crick and family of Florida; Andrew Crick and family of New York; Joel (Gregory) Crick and family of New York; Joseph (Joe-Joe) Crick and family of New York and Bertram Valentine Crick and family of New York and Ottawa.

Our father’s other children which included Thurston Blenman and family; James Wilson and family; the family of the late Lloyd Gunsam; Carlton Bennett (Josey) and family; Alwyn (Bum) Williams and family; Jacqueline Williams and family; Marva Bradshaw and family; Jeff George and family; Noel Lewis and family. From his children, there were 65 grand children and 70 great grand children and a number of great-great grand children.

Joseph N. Crick attended the Marriaqua Government School. He later learned the skill of tailoring – where he gained life skills such as patience and attention to detail. His vast array of experiences was grounded in Common Sense, and he had an excellent memory, sound reasoning capabilities and was most current on events.{{more}}

He was a natural at farming and trading. This spirit of entrepreneurship was the model for many of his children. He was methodical in his thrift, organizational skills, methods of communication and enforcement of discipline.

He was affectionately called Josey, JNC and Uncle Joe by friends and family, respectively. For the most part, as his children, we addressed him as daddy. He earned a healthy respect from all. He was a pillar of inner and outward strength; a solid corner stone and a bright light in a dark mysterious world.

His secret to an enduring happiness was not to be bothered about tomorrow or the things he could not control. His focus was on nurturing and molding of solid values in his children. As his children, we benefited tremendously from his life’s perspective.

We learned hard work from Daddy and the fact that we had worked hard and “if you aim for the sky and you only reach the tree top, you are still above ground.” This taught us to set goals, pursue them and become achievers. He also taught us to prioritize and work before playing; and to see the vision and then pursue it on our own.

My Father’s spiritual mantra and demeanor exuded the following:

1) Say hello to strangers, make friends and be happy.
2) Be a reliable and steady resource for the people important to you.
3) Spend time and money on the people you love.

When faced with difficult situations, JNC would always find something positive to say. Even when he was in the hospital and had just lost his second leg, he was positive about it. He joked that he had sent the bad parts to hell and that the rest of him was going to heaven. Our dad lived a very good life and used it to make our yokes a bit easier and our burdens a bit lighter.

He was a good Christian who found joy in living amid mystery. He didn’t just send us to church – he went too. Whether we liked it or not, we had no choice but to be at church and Sunday school. He also enjoyed a good drink.

Life is best viewed from the road that has been traveled, and the only thing that is truly important in life is LIFE in itself. Therefore, one must follow one’s heart in life and be PASSIONATE about it. Having watched the life of our father, I learned from him to live each day as if it is the last – because someday, you’ll be right!

Live a good life as Joseph Nathaniel did! He loved speaking about life.

That was the enduring life fulfillment and legacy of Joseph Nathaniel Crick. Let us live it the best way we can from generation to generation. His values shall live on through those whose lives he touched in one form or another. WE HAVE LOST A GOOD FATHER; but we have not lost our memories of him nor of his life – because those memories shall live on in our hearts and in our lives.