HEART-WARMING tributes and tears flowed freely, yet laughter was elicited through the colourful stories shared on Thursday at the service of thanksgiving for the life of legal luminary Justice C Dennis Morrison, held at University Chapel, Mona, St Andrew.

Morrison, a former president of the Court of Appeal, passed on Saturday, February 3, 2024. He was eulogised as a stalwart in the legal fraternity who was generous, kind-hearted, humble, wise, compassionate, and always respectful to others.

Among the poignant tributes was that of Morrison’s widow Janet who presented her homage to her “husband, friend, and confidant” in the form of a letter, which she said was “scripted on my heart”.

With a shaky, sombre voice, Janet said she was speaking directly to her “beloved soulmate because I know for sure, with all my heart, that you are here in spirit with us today as ever — calm and peaceful”.

“You made your presence felt in the life of each of us, turning up at every moment. Selflessly, you gave emotional shelter and assurance that all will be well. A listening ear, a shoulder, a hand to hold, a shared wisdom, an unclouded and clear insight into a challenging situation. You were being simply you. You were a candle in the dark,” she said.

While fighting back tears Janet jokingly pointed out that despite her late husband’s mastery of the English language and his gift of speech and prose, which earned him the nickname Linguist in sixth form at Wolmer’s Boys’ School in 2005, when he proposed marriage to her, he did so on a Post-it note paper.

The revelation elicited laughter among the congregation, and she chuckled a little.

She shared the note: “Will you marry me, how about May 7th?” However, she said that when the date was checked and it was discovered that the West Indies cricket team would be playing Australia at Sabina Park on that day, the wedding was put off to the following weekend.

Thanking him for “19 wonderful years of marriage” filled with good and bad jokes, rousing chat, laughter with friends and family, Janet said she especially misses her late husband’s “signature one move on the dance floor — the same move to every song”.

“Believe me, even now, even in the depths of my grief, I cannot say that you are a good dancer,” she said, eliciting more laughter.

She said she also misses him for his easy manner and accessibility to all, while highlighting the reputation he had at the Court of Appeal of Jamaica, the Court of Appeal in Belize, the Court of Appeal in Cayman and in the Turks and Caicos, “for your generosity, humility, and respect for all”.

She thanked everyone for “the tremendous outpouring of tributes, prayerful support, flowers, cards, calls, visits and messages. In all, they all show how your leaving has broken their hearts and left a void — no less mine”.

Morrison’s son Simon, who paused several times during his tribute to wipe away tears, noted that his father had been a stalwart to his family — always providing a voice of calm assurance in difficult times.

“What has struck me in the last several weeks is how listening to and reading many tributes to him, he has been a stalwart to many others too outside our family; he touched many people,” he said.

“I am thankful that he was celebrated in his lifetime — professionally, yes, but also by every person he touched. I believe he knew he was loved. Daddy, thank you. I miss you dearly but I feel enormous gratitude. Rest in peace. We cherish your memory,” he said as he broke down in tears.

Morrison’s close friends also shared treasured memories. In his light-hearted tribute, founder of Mustard Seed Communities Monsignor Gregory Ramkissoon said he was introduced to Morrison in 1982, and “we got to know each other in a private way and in a public way”.

He said Morrison had been associated with the Mustard Seed charity for about 20 years and that he could always call on him for help.

“He lived to love, not just loved to live. He is the type of guy who will not give to get, but he will go and get to give. Many times I am short of funds I say, ‘Dennis…I have the money, you know…It’s in your pocket,’ ” Ramkissoon said, noting that they would joke like this often.

He also recalled Morrison at one point handing him a note, in jest, which said: “I, Dennis Morrison, give Monsignor Gregory Ramkissoon $10 million, 40 years after I die.”

A long-time friend of Morrison, senior partner at law firm DunnCox, Janice Causwell said, he “was one of the finest persons I have ever known” who was beloved by everyone, and understood and had time for everyone.

She said that she met Morrison in 1968 when they were both 17 years old and entering The University of the West Indies (The UWI). “I had the good fortune of being the beneficiary of a wonderful, unwavering friendship since then.”

Causwell described her friend, who also served as a partner at DunnCox, as “polished, charming, gentlemanly, mischievous and lovable — all at the same time”.

She also applauded his legal expertise, noting that his successes in the lower courts, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and before the Law Lords at the Privy Council, were observed with awe and appreciation.

Causwell said it came as no surprise when he was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1994 — one of the youngest persons to ‘take silk” in a generation.

“He was smooth, he was crafty, and so charming that before you knew it, as an opponent, you had lost your case,” she said.

Other people with whom he worked throughout his law career — Deacon Ronald Thwaites and Norman Manley Law School Principal Carol Aina, were also among those who gave tributes.

Morrison, who served the legal profession in several capacities for almost five decades, was admitted to practise in Jamaica in 1975 and was among the first graduating classes of The UWI and Norman Manley Law School to study law in the Caribbean.

In a statement following news of his passing the Jamaican Bar Association said Morrison was as “an outstanding advocate in private practice and served as an eminent jurist on several courts of appeal in the region, including as president of the Court of Appeal in Jamaica and in the Turks and Caicos Islands”.

The association further noted that he served with distinction as president between 1995 and 1999 and was vice-president of the Organization of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations.

It said his legacy “includes the many students’ professional lives he positively impacted in his two decades at the Norman Manley Law School and his contribution to the region by serving on the Council of Legal Education, including as chairman for seven years between 1998 and 2005, and on the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission”.

Morrison, who was a Rhodes Scholar, retired in 2020. He was honoured by the Jamaican Bar Association in 2021 and by the Organization of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations in 2023.

On being appointed president of the Court of Appeal in 2016 he was invested with the Order of Jamaica, the nation’s fourth-highest national honour.