Hector Wynter dies from accident injuries
FORMER Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) senator and editor of the Gleaner, Hector Lincoln Wynter, 76, died in the University Hospital yesterday from injuries he received in a traffic accident last Friday.
Wynter, a Rhodes scholar and founder of the Bustamante Institute of Public and International Affairs, was driving his Subaru Legacy motor car last Friday when a Sport Utility Vehicle reportedly slammed into his car at the intersection of Wellington Drive and Bamboo Avenue in Kingtston. He suffered severe chest injuries, broken ribs and damaged lungs.
He was admitted to the University Hospital where he underwent a five-hour thoracis surgery and was in the Intensive Care Unit where he died from his injures yesterday.
Prime Minister P J Patterson, who expressed regret at his passing, hailed Wynter as one who displayed all the hallmarks of a true public servant, while the JLP remembered him as a patriotic Jamaican.
Patterson said Wynter’s passing closes the chapter on a life that was dedicated to service to Jamaica. “His contribution in various spheres of national life was marked by selfless service and fierce dedication to what he believed in,” Patterson said.
The prime minister, who also remembered him as his teacher at Calabar High School and his warden at the University of the West Indies, said Wynter was civil and polite even to those with whom he disagreed fundamentally.
Opposition Leader Edward Seaga, in his tribute, said Wynter’s career had touched most areas of national life. “His career was never far from the concerns of young people, culture and international affairs. He is probably best remembered for his term as editor of the Daily Gleaner and his stout defense of press freedom and the protection of journalists.”
“Jamaica has lost a great son and an esteemed (public) servant,” said JLP general secretary, Ken Baugh, in a statement yesterday.
“He will be greatly missed for his extensive experience and wise counsel,” said Baugh.
Meanwhile, the foreign affairs ministry said Wynter’s contribution was remembered with fondness and appreciation.
Wynter, who received the Order of Jamaica in the 1980s, served as Jamaica’s first high commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago in 1963. He was deeply involved with the JLP, serving as chairman of the party from 1970-72; senator from 1962 -63; parliamentary secretary for external affairs from 1965-67; minister of state for education 1967-69; minister of state for youth,1969-79.
Born in Cuba in 1926, Wynter, who was educated at St Johns College and Wolmers, won both the Issa and the Rhodes Scholarships which took him to Oxford University, London. He returned to Jamaica and joined the staff of the University of the West Indies where he soon became its registrar and director of Extra-mural studies.
Up to the time of his death, Wynter was a trustee and a member of the JLP’s Standing Committee.
He is survived by widow Diane and six children.