St Andrew village bids slain artist farewell

Relatives and friends of award-winning artist Cecil Dwayne Webb, one of the three men who died in a bloody cutlass attack on Independence Day, found it extremely difficult to say goodbye to their loved one who was laid to rest today.

The hundreds who gathered in and outside the Evening Light Pentecostal Church, Arch Hall, St Thomas, struggled to hold back the tears as they reflected on the life of the NIFCA award-winning sculptor.

In a service while grieving relatives shed tears, Webb was described as a multi-talented individual who has touched many lives positively.

Cecil Webb’s relatives overcome by grief.

In her tribute, Webb’s niece Lisa Belle asked the congregation to never forget the million-dollar smile her uncle always wore on his face.

Belle, who lives in the United States, said she would forever cherish the daily conversations she had with hee 49-year-old uncle when he took time out to teach her about woodwork and painting.

Webb, who taught himself woodwork using a screwdriver, entered NIFCA the first year he started, she recalled.

She said not only did he believe in himself, but he also believed in those he sought to help.

Webb was a multiple NIFCA award winner in fine arts with wood as his medium.  He won the Central Bank Governor’s Award in 2017 for a piece titled Rhythm and Wood which he entered in the Crop Over Visual Arts Festival. He also volunteered with the District Emergency Organization.

Belle said: “Webb was one of those people who had so many talents.

“You would talk about him and all you would hear about is he was just so talented.

“He was a plumber by trade and so many other things he was just by sheer natural talent.

“We all know he was an artist, he was a sculptor, he was very athletic, he would teach martial arts, we found out recently that he was a musician teaching people.

“He was one of those people who could look at something and say ‘yes, I can do this’ and he meant he could do it.”

Belle also encouraged the congregation to live in a way that would leave them with no regrets, since that was how Webb lived his life.

Webb, Terry Small and Jeffneil Browne, died in a sword attack at Walkers Terrace, St Andrew. Cuthbert Mayers, 70, was also injured in the incident. Residents told reporters at the scene that Browne, who they said was known for walking with sharp-edged tools, allegedly started the attack at Webb’s home.

They said Webb was discovered bent over in his backyard bleeding and screaming for help. It is believed that Webb, a small farmer, was tending to his animals when he was attacked. Residents also said that Browne then went over to Small’s residence still brandishing the sword and allegedly inflicted the fatal wound.

Members of the St Andrew community came out in their numbers to bade farewell to their friend with whom they became familiar when he moved to the area in 2016.

Webb’s neighbour Denny Smith was visibly distraught.

Denny Smith described his friend Cecil Webb as one of the best human beings he has ever met.

Smith tearfully related that Webb was one of the best persons he has ever met, explaining that the deceased did only good for those in the close-knit community.

He said: “I loved him. We all loved him. He was one of the best human beings I have ever met in my long life, both here and while living abroad.

“He sought out elderly people and helped them. He provided for them, he carried stuff and he did their chores and offered any assistance that he could render.

“Unfortunately though, Dwayne came up against a person who was consumed with evil, who apparently had issues going back to his childhood.

“And when good and evil collides, sometimes good wins out, but in this particular case evil won.”

Smith said though it had only been five weeks since Webb died, he was already missing the delightful Sunday morning conversation they shared.

He added: “It was such a major tragedy. The community has been traumatized ever since because we already had another situation [where the body of 22-year-old Rahim Ward of Cottage Grove, St George was discovered in a shallow grave] near the St Andrew Parish Church.

“This one though, this one is incurable because of the amount of pain that it brought, the loss and the sadness.

“My concern though is that I did not see a lot of people either from Government, or social organizations reach out and there is still hurt, there is still pain, there is still anger because in many ways we have never felt supported by the wider community.”

A Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church held an open-air service in the area in an attempt to calm the hurting souls, he noted.

He also recalled that Minister of Transport and Works Dr William Duguid, who is a close family friend, also visited Webb’s home on the day of the incident.

Pastor Paul Leacock, who centred his sermon on the biblical story of Cane and Abel, attempted to persuade mourners that they need to conquer any negativity has been crouching at their doors, since mankind has the tendency to do what was wrong in the sight of God.

Leacock preached that at times people became angry because of the contrast between their behaviour and prosperity and that of others.

“And rather than looking at how they can better themselves, they rather erase the competition, remove the possibility and the contrast so that they can look good because your good looking is not theirs,” he said.

Webb was buried at the St James Cemetery.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb