102-y-o Jamaican says goodbye just ahead of Centenarians’ Day

JOSEPH MCINTYRE, a centenarian from Balaclava, St Elizabeth, passed away on Tuesday, three days before celebrating Friday’s National Centenarian Day.

At 102 years old, McIntyre enjoyed a full life, and he certainly had a lot to celebrate during his lifetime. In February, he commemorated his 102nd birthday with a cake, a glass of wine, and with his second wife Cimmeneth and other relatives and friends by his side.

He also enjoyed the extraordinary good fortune of seeing his only son graduate from The University of the West Indies; embark on a full career in commercial banking, where he retired as a banking executive; then later take on the task of chairing the board of management for the Wolmer’s Trust High School for Girls and Boys, where both son and grandson were students.

Joseph McIntyre, the patriarch, was born on February 16, 1921, and raised in Content, St Elizabeth. He was a carpenter by profession and migrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s, becoming a part of the Windrush movement.

Once there, he changed gear and was employed to the public transportation system in Manchester as a metro bus operator until he retired in the early 1980s. He moved back to St Elizabeth in 1984, where he enjoyed a happy and active retirement until his passing earlier this week. He is survived by son Lincoln and daughters Gerzel, Marjorie and Joan, as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

So what accounted for his long life? “A diet of ground provisions – yam, sweet potato, bananas and fruits,” he told an RJR radio team that visited with him a year ago. He says he refrained from smoking, was an avid cricket fan, and a domino player of distinction.

According to Ministry of Labour and Social Security statistics, there are about 200 centenarians currently living in Jamaica. Centenarians’ Day is celebrated in Jamaica annually in recognition of citizens who are 100 years or older.