Former SAJ managing committee member dies

Robert Gordon Harvey Milner, former member of the managing committee (MC) of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), has died. Milner, who served on the MC in 1970, died on November 29 in Vancouver, Canada.

Born in Kingston, Gordon, as he was called by his friends, is the son of a Jamaican mother, Muriel Orrett, and Scottish father, William Milner. He attended Wolmer's Boys' School and McGill University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Commerce in 1963. In 1965, he received his licentiate in chartered accountancy from LaSalle College.

Milner worked at H.D.McCaulay Orrett Ltd (local agents for SeaLand) during his time in the local shipping industry.

He served on the MC at a time when the SAJ acquired lands for the construction of a modern recruiting centre for port workers. This period also saw the association introducing a training scheme for winch men and tally clerks, marking the start of a skilled workforce. Milner also served as a trustee of SAJ property.

EMIGRATION TO CANADA

After emigrating to Canada with his family in 1974, he continued to work in the shipping industry and was employed to SeaLand in Vancouver. For the last 12 ¹/₂ years of his professional life, he was the administrator at Pinegrove Place Intermediate Care Home in Canada.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Joy (Lecky), and their three children - Susanne, David, and Christopher. He was laid to rest on December 11, 2014.