Montego Bay’s Mayor and Councillor for the Cambridge Division, Mayor Homer Davis has expressed regrets at the passing of Mr. Rhudal Victor McFarlane, the former Principal of the Cambridge High School.
Mr. McFarlane was also a former Jamaica Labour Party Caretaker for the St. James Southern Constituency, a position which Mayor Davis currently occupies.
Mayor Davis said Mr. McFarlane’s death is even more painful as it comes at a time when Jamaica on a whole has been mourning the passing of Labour and Social Security Minister Shahine Robinson, former JLP Member of Parliament Dr. Neville Gallimore and former Mayor of May Pen, Milton Brown.
“Mr. McFarlane has served Jamaica with distinction, particularly in the field of education where he worked at several schools including as a Pre-Trained teacher at the Grange Hill, Salter’s, Niagara and Vaughnsfield Primary Schools, Maldon High School where he rose to the position of Vice Principal and ultimately at the Cambridge High School”, Mayor Davis said.
He added that “it was only last August, the St. James Municipal Corporation recognized the work and worth of Mr. McFarlane and presented his with a “Spirit of Independence Award” for his contribution in the field of education…an award which he truly deserved and was graciously accepted”.
Mr. McFarlane, who was appointed as Justice of the Peace in 1998 and received the Prime Minister's Medal for outstanding service in Education in May 2009 has been described by Mayor Davis as a good steward, a disciplinarian, a great philosopher, an advisor, a historian, a talented musician, an athlete and an inspirational leader who can also be described as a man for all seasons.
Mr. McFarlane studied at Mico Teachers College, the University of the West Indies where he obtained a Bachelors of Arts degree in mathematics and economics. He obtained a Masters’ Degree in Management at the Central Connecticut University before making his mark at the Cambridge High as Principal …a position in which he served for 27 years and was instrumental in the construction of 30 new classrooms and an auditorium with funds obtained primarily from the school’s tuck shop and canteen.
This very soft spoken gentlemen will inform that during his sojourn at the Cambridge High School, the reputation of the institution was vastly improved to the point of being able to move the student population from 350 to a high of 1, 750 and the academic staff from 25 to 75 at the point of his retirement.
Mayor Davis is expressing sympathies to family members of Mr. McFarlane as well as to his many friends, relatives and students who would have benefited from his expertize as an outstanding educator.