John Donaldson to be buried Saturday...

Care and consideration for all. This is the legacy that Eleanor Joye Donaldson-Honeywell hopes her father, John Donaldson Jr, has left in T&T. Donaldson, former People's National Movement (PNM) vice-chairman, died on Tuesday at the age of 76 at the St Clair Medical Centre. He had been ill for some time. His funeral will take place on Saturday at 10 am at the St Mary's RC Church, George Cabral Street, St James. It will be followed by a private cremation.

In a brief telephone interview yesterday, Donaldson-Honeywell, who is T&T’s solicitor general, believed her father had left a legacy of “kindness, love, care and respect for all.” She added: “He helped a lot of people. He loved to help and loved to see people happy.” She said another major part of her father's legacy would be the love he had for T&T and for “his party, the PNM.”

Donaldson-Honeywell said she completed her legal studies alongside her father in 1989. She said he had already qualified to practise law in Canada, having graduated from the University of British Columbia, but needed to complete further legal studies to practise law in T&T. He attended Rosary Boys’ RC School and Tranquility Boys’ before going on to Osmond High School and St Mary’s College, Port-of-Spain.

Donaldson's widow, Marjorie Donaldson, said yesterday those close to her husband had only pleasant memories of his life and his personality. She said: “He was a very good man, husband, father and grandfather. We loved him very much and he was very good to all of us... not only us but everyone he would meet.” She said her husband had a very positive outlook on life and would always “look on the bright side of situations.”

AG pays tribute
Meanwhile, as tributes continued to pour in for Donaldson, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, in a statement yesterday, said the former PNM stalwart was “yet another example of someone from the legal profession who sacrificed what would have undoubtedly been a long and distinguished career in law for public service.”

Ramlogan said Donaldson enjoyed a career “worthy of commendation and celebration,” having often provided pro bono legal advice to citizens who could not afford legal representation. Apart from his service in the political sphere, Ramlogan said Donaldson served as T&T ambassador to Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and other parts of Africa. In 1976 he was selected by prime minister at the time, Dr Eric Williams, to serve as the Minister of External Affairs.

He added: “There’s no question Mr Donaldson's dedication and his contribution to the governance of our nation from its formative years and throughout have left an indelible mark on our national landscape.”