Donald Thom is a ‘Special Person’ull Quote: “I must say that I have enjoyed life to the fullest. It has been eighty-five good years to date. I have played my little part in this beautiful country to the best of my ability. I am proud of that fact. Honestly, I can’t complain.”By Leon SuseranThis week’s ‘Special Person’, octogenarian Donald Alexander Thom, is a simple, but dedicated son of the soil who has given almost all of his working years to public service in Guyana.Donald ThomBorn at Fyrish Village, Corentyne, on March 6, 1926 – the fifth child of Donald Alexander and Nellie Lillian Thom – the young Donald in his late teenage days moved to New Amsterdam in 1944 to join the Public Service, and subsequently married his beloved sweetheart, Ivy Beatrice Roberts, a school teacher at the time.They met at a Congregational Youth Conference,Cheap Jerseys, with both of them at the time being members of the Guyana Congregational Union of Churches.“It took us to Buxton in 1946, and we eventually got married in 1950. My wife, at one time was Deputy Mayor of New Amsterdam. She served the council 13 years.”Their happy union produced 9 children, the eldest of whom, Keith, is a West Indian-trained lawyer and is presently serving as Crown Counsel in Antigua. Their other children also hold prominent positions in their respective vocations.“My wife is now deceased; she died in January of last year, a few months shy of our 60th wedding anniversary,” he recalled.During our interview, Donald pieced together several of his more vivid memories – the most gratifying he recalls, being his tenure around the Courts.“I joined the Magistrate’s Department and the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature as a First Marshall II,Jerseys NFL Cheap, and I held that position from 1969 to 1981, after which I retired. I was then re-employed for an additional eight years… I guess I must have been doing my job the right way,Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys,” he said with a broad smile.He continued: “Some of my duties included working with the judges…something that gave me solid perspective in my life…serving summonses, doing levies, debt-owing, you name it. As you could imagine, there were dangerous and bizarre experiences along the way…and some which presented interesting challenges and scenarios.”He described one such scenario.In uniform as First Marshall (1978)“One of the most memorable moments in my working life was in 1979 when I had to go and seize a ship…It wasn’t easy, you know, the job of the Marshall gives you a fair bit of responsibility and authority, and yes, you can seize a ship!”He said that the persons on the ship had owed debts and the vessel was moored at the Georgetown Wharf.“I was supposed to go up on the mast of the ship and put the summons on the mast,” he reflected.” “I started wondering how I would reach so high. I guess my countenance gave me away.”“I wasn’t climbing up there!” he chuckled.“I thought to myself, ‘someone on the ship would have to go up and take down the summons, anyway, so why not let that person take it up, and give the process its legitimacy?”“They (the crew) cooperated, he recounted fondly. “The same people who owned the ship, graciously had someone help me to put it up. It was not necessarily how it should have been, but I could not have put it directly in their (the owners) hands,” he said.Other significant aspects of his life then came flowing back to him.“I also have been a member of the Executive Committee of the Guyana Congregational Union, the Lions Club of New Amsterdam in 1982 and served as its President from 1989-1990. I was an Executive Member of the Guyana Public Service Union and the union representative of the Guyana Public Service Commission…oh yes,China Jerseys Wholesale, and a member of the Guyana Community Council of USA, which serves the needs and concerns of Guyanese and provides scholarships,” he proudly asserted.“I have also been a member of the Mission Chapel Congregational Church, for over 50 years, and because of my devotion to the work of the Lord, I have been elevated to the position of Life Deacon since 1989.”Thom was elected Deacon of Mission Chapel in December 1958; Treasurer 1967-1988 (the longest serving individual in that capacity) and, as mentioned, Life Deacon in 1989.During the years 1982 and 1990, he represented the Guyana Congregational Union (GCU) at consultations sponsored by CWM in Jamaica.He was appointed Member of the Rehabilitation Committee of the Mission Chapel Church in 2002 and a member of the Bi- Centenary Committee, during which he was duly honoured. He was coordinator of the church’s celebrations. At present, he is Co-Chairman and Coordinator of the 192nd Church Family Reunion Committee.With the family (1971)Thom also v