Family and friends of Howard Moo Young laughed when Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship member Sam Cooper declared that the late photographer and graphic artist “spoke at his own thanksgiving service”.

Cooper, who led the proceedings at the service on April 1 at Swallowfield Chapel in St Andrew, made the witty remark after Alyssa Moo Young delivered her dad’s ‘Testimony’ — the multiple award-winning artist’s unpublished biography — which she had found in his room after his passing on February 15, 2023.

Introducing ‘Howard’s Testimony’, as it was named in the programme, Alyssa told the congregation: “I wondered how do I put together his life in words; how do I choose the memories to share. I didn’t know where to start.

“After he passed, I went into his room and stumbled across a folder which included something titled ‘My testimony’, and there it was, in his handwriting, his life story. So today I’m going to share, in his words, his testimony about his life as he would have shared with you today if he was here.”

The story traced Moo Young’s life from his early days as the eldest of seven boys living at Manchester Square at the top of Duke Street behind a tiny grocery shop operated by his father Hubert.

It highlighted the fact that he grew up in a Christian home; spoke to his time at Wolmer’s Boys’ School, when he received his first camera — a Kodak Brownie Box — because he was successful in his “government exam”.

Moo Young also wrote of his involvement in the Inter-School Christian Fellowship and other groups, as well as the Chinese Christian group which evolved over the years to become Swallowfield Chapel.

Each Sunday the family attended church thrice for the day. During the week they participated in other church meetings.

Moo Young also wrote of his first job at Dunlop and Associates as an apprentice in commercial art and related his experiences studying in America when he lost friends in the Vietnam War, which he described as “unnecessary”.

He also highlighted his job at MacMillam Advertising, after which he co-founded Moo Young Butler and Associates, which grew to become one of the island’s top advertising agencies.

He candidly revealed that he had become so consumed by the business that he drifted away from the Lord; however, he eventually regained his Christian faith and was an active member of the Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship up to the time of his passing.

Struggling to control her emotions, Alyssa told the congregation, “I remember growing up, my dad was my best friend. I don’t think there is anything I did not tell him. He was always kind and sacrificed for us. So as I got older and life changed, dad moved in with me. I told myself that I would always take care of him till it was his time. I never expected it to be so soon.

“Dad was full of life and never slowed down, even when I told him to stop because he had nothing to worry about. But that just wasn’t him. He just wanted to create, which he did until the day he left us, and that was what he loved and [what] made him happy.”

Earlier, Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange described Moo Young as “an iconic artist and photographer” who, over 50 years, captured some of the most treasured scenes in Jamaica’s political, cultural, social, and commercial life.

“From the canvas to the camera, Howard Moo Young’s achievements are legendary and speak to a man who was able to capture the pain behind the smile, the story behind a picture, and the significance of a moment,” Grange said in her tribute.

Moo Young, she said, was the embodiment of the adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” and pointed to his most famous photograph of the moment when reggae legend Bob Marley got bitter political rivals Michael Manley and Edward Seaga to join hands on stage during the April 22, 1978 One Love Peace Concert at the National Stadium in St Andrew.

The gesture, which Grange described as “a show of solidarity and peace”, was significant, given the bloody ideological feud between Manley’s People’s National Party and Seaga’s Jamaica Labour Party at the time.

“Somehow, Howard Moo Young was able to capture for history and posterity that indelible image, which became, for decades, a symbol of political peace and fraternity,” Grange said, adding, “Howard was able, in that image, to project the emotion underlying the action and the significance of the gesture, and it meant something to Jamaica’s political future.”

Describing Moo Young as a man of vision, Grange said that he understood the role he played as a graphic artist and photographer in conceptualising the logos of companies as well as the centrepiece of advertising campaigns.

“Howard was a successful and fruitful marriage of art and commerce as he established one of the most famous commercial advertising and design companies in Jamaica,” she said, noting that among his many accolades were the silver Musgrave Medal and the Centenary Medal awarded by the Institute of Jamaica.

“The essence of the man that was Howard Moo Young was his love for Jamaica and the Jamaican people. He was very passionate about Jamaica, as such, he gave back to his country by unearthing and mentoring new talent in art and photography. These include youngsters from Kingston inner cities,” Grange related.

Noting that for many years Moo Young taught at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Grange said, “He understood that the measure of his life’s meaning was his ability to give of himself to others, especially the most vulnerable.”

His name, she said, “will live in his work as a world-class artist, photographer, mentor, teacher, and visionary”.

Moo Young’s stepson Christopher Yap, in his tribute, hailed him as a father figure.

He recalled the first time, when he was six years, that Moo Young took him fishing and the thrill of his first catch.

“He was a simple man, but his simpleness spoke volumes. He taught me what true life and the meaning of life is. Material things come and go, but the true essence of a man is how he makes his family feel and the things he passes on to generations to come,” Yap said.

“Dad, your memory will live on within me [and] each of your children. I can’t tell you thank you enough for everything that you’ve sacrificed and everything that you’ve done for us and all the love that you’ve given us, all the care, time, and effort that you put into seeing us grow to the people we are today. I hope that we live up to your expectations,” he said.

Grandson Brooklyn Phillips also described Moo Young as a father figure.

“He gave me knowledge that is more valuable than gold and I will be sure to carry the lessons, morals, and values I learnt from him into my future,” said the youngster who joined the service via video link from overseas.

“I didn’t realise he had such an impact and importance in other people’s lives,” he said, adding that his grandfather was “an incredible man who left a mark on the world”.

“I am very proud of him; he has truly blessed and changed me forever,” Phillips said.

Another of Moo Young’s daughters, Laura, who also joined the service via video link, thanked him for loving her for who she is.

“He always assured me that my wild dreams and unconventional ideas were never out of reach,” she said.

“I will continue to make you proud,” she added.

Fellow art teacher and friend Mortimer McPherson said that as an artist Moo Young did not create physical material works to be placed on a wall but moments of love and laughter that “will transcend our lives and become etched in time”.

“He was well respected by the Jamaican artistic establishment [and] could be regarded as one of Jamaica’s greatest artists,” added McPherson, who shared some of the experiences he had with Moo Young travelling across the island to teach youngsters.

Donette Zacca delivered tributes on behalf of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and the Photography Society.

Pointing out that Moo Young twice served as president of The Colour Photography Club of Jamaica, she said he was the go-to person for just about anything relating to art, artists, and photography.

She recalled his work as an advisor and adjudicator at the JCDC, where he also served as co-chairman, noting that, “He was attentive to time,” and through his art and photography “related the stories as he saw them”.