Former MP Ruddy Lawson remembered as a generous spirit
Published:Saturday | June 29, 2019 | 12:15 AMPaul Clarke/Gleaner Writer
Former People’s National Party (PNP) member of parliament (MP) and government minister Rudyard Lawson was yesterday remembered as a great family man and an exceptional politician in a thanksgiving service at the Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St Andrew yesterday.
Lawson, who passed away on June 1, is survived by his widow, Yvonne, and five children.
Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, who served alongside Lawson in Government in the 1970s, saluted his former colleague as a man of excellent rapport who loved his family dearly.
“He had a brilliant political mind. He was generous in spirit and kind at heart. There was one advice he gave everybody: ‘Politics is nice, but remember your family’, and anybody knew Ruddy would know that his family came first. They were his pride and he was their joy,” Patterson said.
“I have lost a very, very close friend, and although he was ailing and was not in his usual state of health, I was not expecting his departure would have been a few Saturdays ago. In fact, whenever he called me, it was on two things: either about his concern for Yvonne and her state of health or the state of affairs in the party,” he added.
Patterson said that Lawson was bold, full of courage, and exemplified the Fortis spirit, having attended Kingston College.
The former MP is credited for fixing some of Jamaica’s water problems and for playing a critical role in developing modern projects that brought potable water to many communities for the first time.
Lawson earned his political stripes in the turbulent 1970s, which marked an ideological divide between democratic socialism and capitalism. A councillor in the St Catherine Parish Council, Lawson was appointed mayor of Spanish Town from 1974-76 and progressed to his first of two stints in the House of Representatives, 1976-1980, after defeating Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) rising star Bruce Golding in South West St Catherine.
Lawson defeated the JLP’s Bruce Golding in 1976 before the current MP, Everald Warmington, turned the tide, defeating him in the 1980 polls.
The people sent Lawson back to the House of Representatives in the 1993 general election, and he served until 1997.
He also served as a state minister in the late 1970s before serving in the Ministry of Agriculture from 1989-93 and then the Ministry of Water and Transport from 1993-95.
“Dad was special and passionate about the politics, but more so for the love of his life, Yvonne, and his family,” son Konrad Lawson said in a touching moment during the eulogy.