Friday, May 23, 2014

EULOGY ON MONIQUE EMMANUEL

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EULOGY ON OUR BELOVED FATHER, BROTHER AND FRIEND: MONIQUE EMMANUEL


 RELIGIOUS CELEBRATION AT MARIGOT ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

THURSDAY MAY 22nd, 2014

A SUMMARY &TESTIMONY ON HIS LIFE BY HIS DAUGHTERS AND SONS

Delivered by: Léopold BALY

Greetings in Christ to all of you gathered here this afternoon for the religious celebration of the life of our beloved father, brother and friend Monique Emmanuel.

I also wish to express my gratitude to the children of our deceased brother Monique for their confidence in granting to me the rewarding privilege to deliver the testimony on the life of an exceptional man, their father.

Our beloved father, brother and friend, Monique Emmanuel, peacefully passed on to eternal life in the hands of his Almighty God, eight days after his 97th birthday, on Wednesday May 14th, 2014 at 2:40 PM, at his home, surrounded by seven of his daughters and myself who was paying him a visit at the time,

Having the privilege some four years ago to write an autobiography of brother Monique Emmanuel, concerning his Christian faith, family life a career, I will content myself with quoting from his own words.


Concerning his Christian faith he declared:

My mother was Catholic and my father a Methodist, I was baptized in the Roman Catholic faith, and remained up to this day a faithful follower, believing in all the Church's teaching, believing in the Holy Trinity, God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

I raised up all my children in the same Catholic faith, teaching them how to pray and the right way to know God's love and also how to ask for his protection. In all their doing, I told them to put their faith, trust and belief in God

I have so much to thank God the Almighty for, most of all my good health.

I also thank God for granting me the privilege to be enjoying my old age in the happiness of my family home circle in the precious, loving and caring hands of my daughters and sons

He continued: Never cease in asking God for his protection and guidance, without his light present in your life you cannot feel safe. When you put your trust in Him, He will keep you safe from all danger.

Search for God and you will find Him, trust Him, he will not fail you.

Today his daughters and sons testify on how he will always remind them to never cease praying and to always end their prayer with the words: “Lord hear my prayer”

His daily prayers were the 23rd Psalm “The Lord Is my shepherd I shall not want” and the Lord's prayer

His favorite hymn was “What a friend we have in Jesus


Concerning his family life and career he declared:

I was born on May 6th, 1917, in St-Martin. Son of ROUMOU Marie Magdeleine and EMMANUEL Abraham
My father died when I was five years of age. I was raised by my mother and my aunt Leontine Roumou.

From the age of 8 years, I already started to work like a man, as a field worker and milk boy on the Spring estate, owned by Mme Marie Leydet, the last French European plantation owner in St-Martin.

Every morning I had to deliver the milk to all of her customers in Marigot. My aunt Leontine also worked for Madame Ledee.

At the age of ten to twelve I was managing the Spring Estate for Mme Marie Leydet, responsible to oversee the rearing and milking of the cattle.

After Mme Leydet died, her son came to St-Martin and sold the Estate to Mme Yvette Fleming. I decided to quit the Estate to learn a better trade.

I started first training to be a carpenter, I found that too slow so I switch over to training to be a tailor.

At the age of fourteen I was already a self-employed tailor.

I can also remember in my young age sailing through the lagoon every monday morning going to Cole Bay to meet Mr. BELL and get a day's work with him on his root crops and vegetable plantation at Simpson Bay, in the area now transformed into Juliana Airport.

In 1937, at the age of 20, I married Francoise Elisabeth FITALY a native of Gourbeyre/Guadeloupe who blessed me with14 wonderful children, eleven that are today alive Julia, Cecile, Louisa, Rosette, Anselme known as Scello, Ste Flora, Monique, Marie, Angele, Hubert and Rodophe. The3 others Paulette, Francois and Alexandre are already enjoying eternal life with their Lord.
In 1939, I was recruited by the French army in view of the 1939-45 second world's war and send to Basse- Terre/Guadeloupe on a battleship, “Le Barfleur”.

But I was not send to the battle field in France because shortly after the official French Government, known as the Vichy Government, had abdicated to the German's occupation of France putting an end to the official hostility against the enemy.

So after one year service in Basse Terre Guadeloupe, I was discharged and returned to St-Martin.

After my return to Saint-Martin, unlike the belief in those days that the future was to be able emigrate from St-Martin to Aruba, Curacao or to the united States of America, I decided to make myself a man with a future right here in my own country.

I took up training to be a photographer and established myself as a self-employed tailor and photographer, and later around 1950, I get involved in the retail market businesss and in addition I started to fabricate and sell construction and decorative blocks.

In 1959 I was elected deputy-mayor on Dr Petit Hubert list and was attributed the Sports and festivity portfolio jointly with Simon Jeffry.

In 1961 I obtained my driven license but it is only in 1969 that I obtained a Taxi operator's license, because up to 1969, French residents had to apply to the Dutch St-Maarten Administration to obtain a Taxi license.

The French administration was reluctant to organized the taxi trade on the French side,

With Juliana Airport, becoming an international airport open to large intercontinental flights , taxi trade had become a very coveted profession and the number of taxi drivers on the island was growing tremendously, for this reason I become conscious of the necessity to organize the profession on the French Side of the island.

So in 1969, I took the initiative to organize the profession on the French side by creating the first FrenchTaxi Driver's Union of which I had the privilege to remain the president from its creation in September 1969 up to the time of my retirement from the taxi trade in 1997.

It's through my persuasion and voluntary work that from 1969 the French State's Administration (Sous-Prefecture) finally decided to start to deliver taxi driver's license on the French side.

After 62 years of a happy marriage life, on December 2nd, 1999 my wife died at the age of 82. After the death of my beloved wife Elizabeth, I have chosen to remain faithful to her memory, I remained single but living a very happy life in my home, surrounded by the most loving and faithful children one can ever think of.

That was Monique in his own words

Monique also had the great desire to draw up his ancestral family tree that he wanted to leave as a stone mark for his children and grandchildren. It is from his family tree, that I was pleasantly surprised to learn that we were family because his grand mother on his mother side Euphemie Onesine, was a BALY by father and a WHIT by mother.

During his life time, Monique has received many awards for his invaluable contribution to his community

On May 29th, 1964, Monique received from the Municipality of St-Martin with congratulation from the Mayor Dr. Hubert Petit, the Decoration medal for large family

In 1995, Monique was honored by a Municipality decision to name after him the Taxi Drivers Stand on Marigot Water Front

On March 23rd, 2000, Monique was honored by the French Tourism Office for his outstanding contribution in the tourist industry

On October 28th, 2000 he received from Mr. Jean Luc Hamlet, president of Associatiom “Demain Saint-Martin” the prize of excellence in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of the island.

In may 2001, At the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) 50th anniversary meeting held at the Waldorf Astoria New York , Monique was present to received the Grand distinguished National Award medal from the (C.T.O.) Committee

On the 27th of september 2001, on commemoration of World Tourism Day held at the Great Bay Beach Hotel. he was presented with a Tourism Lifetime Achievement Award by Tourism Commissioner Theo Heyliger

On April 6th, 2008 Monique received through the hands of Father Samson DORIVAL on behalf of the Diocese of Guadeloupe, Parish of Saint-Martin de Tours, the Testimonial and Acknowledgement Certificate in acknowledgement of his exceptional support and devotedness to the Church.

On December 18th, 2009, he was honored by Saint-Martin United Taxi Association (SMUTA) with a certificate of acknowledgement for his good and faithful service as being the ambassador and architect of the Taxi Trade organization on the island of Saint-Martin


Testimony:

All of us gathered here this afternoon acknowledge that we will surely miss our beloved father, brother and friend, Monique and will bear for ever in our memory the graceful and gracious manner he has always given proof of and shared with all of us through his life time, in the good times and in the bad times,

Our brother Monique during his life time never mist out on an opportunity to share his love and unfailing faith in his Almighty God, with everyone he encountered with,

This afternoon, as we pay tribute to our brother in Christ, Monique, in the midst of our sorrow and grief, we have the profound and very comforting assurance that today it is not about his death, but on the contrary of his henceforth everlasting life in the house of his Almighty God, the God he had feared and made himself unceasingly available to serve during his existence here on earth.

Our sorrow and grief this afternoon may be normal because of our human nature, but in regards to our spiritual existence, the right thing to do in a moment like this is to be rejoicing in the celebration of our brother's victory over death and of his new life in the company of his redeemer

Our Brother Monique has lived a life in God's grace through his unfailing faith in his redeemer.

And because God can never fail in his promise, we have the assurance that today only his physical body has come to an end.



Liberated from his failing flesh, his soul united with God's spirit blown into him ever since creation, lives anew, henceforth in his new living spiritual body unlimited in time and in space, destined to enjoy eternal heavenly life in the place Jesus Christ his savior and redeemer has prepared long time ago for him.

Personally, for the last 37 years since my return to St-Martin, I have considered Monique to be the messenger appointed by God to save my life.

In many life saving circumstances, too long a story to mention here, Monique has proven to me the meaning of the saying: “ A friend in times of need is a friend indeed”


To conclude,

Monique Emmanuel in his autobiography, relates his life with a great sense of pride and satisfaction, as a man who has fully accomplished his mission here on earth. He reminds us of God's apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4: 7 “ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness.....”

Sail on Monique, sail on to the land of the true, where we live anew and will never grow old

And as you have taught your children to say when they pray: Lord here our prayer