TRIBUTE TO MARJORIE LELIA LOUISA, LADY THOMAS

Lady Thomas, the first female principal of the Saint Lucia Teachers’ College from 1975 to 1982, was the sister of the late George Alexander and Sir Darnley Alexander, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Mrs. Glovanna Clarke who, thankfully, is still with us. She was married to Sir Leton Thomas composer of the  National Anthem of Saint Lucia. an accomplished musician who was, himself, the first principal of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College.

Lady Thomas began her teaching career in an era when the social infrastructure of the island was under-developed and poverty was widespread giving rise to social upheaval in nearly all of the English-speaking  islands. From 1939, driven by her strong Roman Catholic faith, she dedicated her life to teaching and to tutoring young teachers during the pupil teacher era, braving the hazards of sea and land, sacrificing leisure time and vacation to ensure that young teachers were prepared for the task of educating the island’s children and playing her part to improve the standard of education in Saint Lucia.

Lady Thomas did not neglect her own educational development and in those early years, beginning with the Licentiate, went on to earn the highest diploma of the College of Preceptors, London, the equivalent of a graduate degree. During her career, as she honed her craft through study and practice, and in the years intervening her appointment to head the Teachers’ college, she earned graduate degrees from Bristol University in the UK and the University of Ottawa in Canada. Her focus was teacher education and curriculum development. Her forte was Mathematics, in particular the New Mathematics.

Lady, Thomas, was a bag of contradictions, for me. She was tough, kind, gentle, proud and brave. She fearlessly continued to drive along Saint Lucia’s roads well into her eighties!

Mrs. Thomas  and Ms. Sase were my catechism teachers as a child growing up in Soufriere. When I was about six she coached us girls for the Corpus Christi procession—to role-play white draped angels whose robes were festooned with silver and gold stars and bedecked with golden paper crowns. I left Soufriere soon afterwards and did not meet her again until I was seventeen and a student at the Saint Lucia Teachers’ College, as my mathematics tutor. She was the consummate professional; she was eager to teach and passed on not only the New Maths but also the statistics that she had learned while at the University of Ottawa. She was always available to go over a troublesome assignment or to explain a needling problem.

On leaving Teachers’ College I was offered a teaching position at the Soufriere Junior Secondary School. My contact with Lady Thomas lessened but I would glimpse her occasionally when she came to Soufriere to see her aged father who lived in Wingsville, a short distance from my paternal grandmother’s house. In my early months at Soufriere Junior Sec. Mrs. Thomas, and other tutors (Mr. Nicholas Frederick was one of them) descended on the school to assess student teachers during teaching practice. One Friday morning I asked Mr. Nicholas Frederick for a ride to Castries that afternoon. When school was dismissed, I got into the back seat of Mr. Frederick’s vehicle and was joined by another teacher who was also travelling to Castries.

Mr. Frederick then told us that he would go to meet Mrs. Thomas who was also riding with us to Castries. We drove to Mr. Alexander’s house (Mrs. Thomas’ father’s home) and I thought we would pick up Mrs. Thomas and be on our way. Well, I was ill-prepared for what ensued. Mrs. Thomas put her father in the front seat then opened the rear door and demanded that we exit the car! I could not believe what I heard! She would not sit next to two students she had taught at Teachers’ College with her father in the car. I would not budge. For two long hours she cajoled, pleaded, quarreled, appealed but I refused to give up my seat. I had to get home to Castries to see the two most important people in my life – my grandmother and a young man who would become my husband a year later – and a week away from them was a lifetime. All the while Mr. Frederick stood by, sometimes leaning on the car, his arms crossed, with what I can only describe as a sardonic grin. He said not a word! Eventually, the male teacher felt compelled to leave the vehicle and Mrs. Thomas reluctantly entered the car and we were on our way.

Mrs. Thomas was extremely protective of her father!

About a year later I was teaching at the Vide Bouteille project, where she came to assess one of her students. I vividly recall giving my assessment of the student teacher.  After listening to me her words were, “Can I tell the student what you said?” My response was, “Of course.”  “Good,” she said, “I like that; we must always be ready to say in front of someone’s face what we have said behind their back.”  We then had a three-way discussion and the student teacher was thankful for my comments. But more importantly Mrs. Thomas’ words have remained with me up to today. She was no hypocrite and she taught me well.

In the years that followed I changed careers and she became Lady Thomas. In my role as National Archivist I had close, cordial contact with Lady Thomas. In 1995 she was happy to provide information and photographs about Sir Darnley Alexander whom we featured in our Tribute Exhibition. Years later I sought information from her to feature her and other pioneering ladies in my book Pioneers and Forerunners: Saint Lucia’s First Ladies.

I persuaded her to donate her portrait to the National Archives where it would be preserved for future generations. She warmed up to the idea and insisted that the artist must not show wrinkles on her neck or have her hands looking strange or in a peculiar position.

Lady Thomas was so pleased with the skill and sensitivity of Mr. Gerald Gustave’s depiction of her that she requested that he paint the portraits of her husband, Sir Leton Thomas and her brother, Sir Darnley Alexander, which she also donated to the National Archives. She did not leave the painting up to the artist but was intimately involved
in the project. After her brother’s portrait was done she called me quite early one morning sounding distressed. She told me, “Please tell Mr. Gustave to put a smile on my brother’s lips; he has painted him with too serious a demeanour! ” Mr. Gustave readily obliged and she was pleased with the result.

Unfortunately, she did not have time to get the portrait of her father done. She was extremely proud of Sir Darnley and her father and would call me periodically to share a remembered tidbit about their lives. Her father was the first truancy officer and would patrol the streets of Castries to round up young ‘wharf rats’ to get them into school.

Our last intimate interaction was on March 1st , 2017 when the National Archives celebrated Flag Day and focused on Sir Dunstan St. Omer, creator of our flag, and our living icon Sir Leton Thomas, composer of the music for our National Anthem. She enjoyed the day’s programme.  On leaving she called me aside and said something that resonated with me. “You know something?” she said. “When teachers stand in front of a class to teach they do not know who they are teaching and should always strive to treat their students right. They do not know who or what these students may become.” She went on to say she was very proud of the work I was doing. I accepted her compliment graciously.

Her wish was that we celebrate Flag Day annually and she requested that I prepare a booklet about the first Flag Day celebration recording every speech and tribute with full descriptions of the individuals behind the flag, anthem, motto and coat of arms for distribution to all the schools. “We must teach the children about these aspects of our history,” she said.

Marjorie, Lady Thomas, seeped in her strong Catholic faith was all human and part saint. She loved teaching which was her chosen vocation and I have no doubt her entry into paradise will be greeted with, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

My family and I offer our deepest condolences to Sir Leton, Mrs. Glovanna Clarke, the nieces and nephews and other relatives and friends of Marjorie  Lelia Louisa Lady Thomas.

May she rest in perfect peace.