Journalists mourn ‘meticulous’ newsman
By Anesta Henry
Members of the journalism fraternity on Thursday bade farewell to veteran newspaperman Ridley Greene, remembering his contribution to the Press that spanned nearly 60 years.
Greene’s former colleagues, a few of whom were with him when he started his media career in 1965 joined with younger journalists he mentored throughout the years to celebrate the story of his life and career in a funeral service at the St Barnabas Anglican Church.
During the service of thanksgiving, Greene was eulogised as a meticulous journalist, loving father of three, and calypso tent manager who appreciated “proper music”, including lyrical tunes he wrote and performed.
His daughter, Penney Greene, recalled her father as a social butterfly who often went into fits of laughter, rocking back and forth with his eyes closed until he was forced to take his glasses off to wipe away the tears of joy.
She said she frequented many places of interest with her father, including bars, where they sat to have a drink, where he sipped beer while she enjoyed a glass of malt.
Ridley Greene’s daughter Penney Greene delivering the eulogy.
Noting that work took up much of her father’s time, Greene said she recalled spending long hours doing her homework in The Nation newsroom and exploring other areas of the newspaper.
“While it might not have been the best environment for a child, and it hadn’t always been easy, I had many great experiences and I met many great people. I have too many adoptive aunties and uncles to name. Conversations with my dad, I can laugh about it now, but they were very frustrating for me,” she told the congregation.
“I would be talking to him, and he would often interrupt me to correct every grammatical error I made. I recalled being so frustrated one day in my teen years that I said to him, ‘Daddy, geese on, it is Barbados, and it is Bajan dialect’. I don’t know what I was thinking at the time because I got an ear full for about five minutes straight – ‘What Bajan dialect nonsense, you are to speak to me in standard English, you young people feel you can come about here and do as you like’. And he was off and ranting. I must say, though, I have been complimented quite a few times for how well I speak, and I would just laugh to myself.”
As an adult, she teased her father by deliberately making sure her subject and verb did not agree in conversation.
She continued: “He would always go over my university assignments with his red ink pen, making changes and quarrelling with me for my poor grammar because he taught me better. My dad wasn’t just an editor at the Nation; he was an editor in real life.
“My dad was the most difficult and stubborn man I have ever known. We clashed a lot as I became older; I guess he had a hard time adjusting to the fact that I wasn’t a little girl anymore. I never doubted his love for me, and as I became an adult, I learned to understand him and manage our relationship better.”
As her father’s health started to decline a few years ago, Greene said she had to be patient and there for him as best as she possibly could, at times simply letting him be.
She said his stubbornness knew no limits, and he insisted on doing as he pleased, noting that her attempts to help him the way he needed always proved futile.
The emotional daughter said: “On Wednesday, September 6, my dad’s last words to me were ‘Adaiah, I am fine. I am just going to sit here for a bit, I am okay.’ He hadn’t been feeling well, and nobody heard him for a couple of days. When I checked on him, I could see that he wasn’t doing well despite his claims.
“And it was hard to watch. He did his best to reassure me, smiling and giving me a thumbs up. My dad died two days later, and I have been heartbroken since. I know, however, that his body must have been tired and his mind even more so. He existed in a world I couldn’t be a part of, and I lived in a world he barely recognised. Despite that, he was my daddy, and I love him wholeheartedly.”
Daughter Penney Greene lays a wreath at the gravesite
Greene, who died at age 77 in early September, was an avowed master of newspaper design. He spent his entire career in the Press, most of which was at The Nation Publishing Co Limited, and from which he retired as an editor. He was also a rewrite editor with Barbados TODAY, and in his early years worked at the defunct Daily News and the Barbados Advocate. He was also the founder and president of the Society of Journalists and Media Persons and the manager of Celebrity Tent.
In a tribute, former Nation executive editor Roxanne Brancker said just as an architect plans every aspect of a building as a sub-editor, Greene meticulously designed the pages on which The Nation’s stories were laid.
His design skills were unparalleled, he was the go-to authority for anything related to Nation layout and headlines, and was the author of The Nation’s Way, the guidebook of the newspaper’s style, she told mourners.
“His commitment to his craft was unwavering,” Brancker said. “He conducted numerous workshops, imparting his knowledge and passion to eager minds, doing his best to ensure that the legacy of excellence in the nation would continue. He won several awards, both locally and regionally, for his design skills. He was really a guiding light and mentor to many staff members, past and present.”
Rector of St Barnabas, Reverend Canon Dr Monrelle Williams, in observing that Greene, a fellow parishioner, was referred to as a meticulous man, called on society to put the truth above political affiliation.
He said: “We live in a republic in which there are so many things which seem to be going wrong. We live in a society in which truth seems to have taken a backseat to political spin; we live in a country in which silence seems to be the order of the day, even among the leaders of the church.
“And I venture to suggest this afternoon that there is a crying need for truth seekers, truth-tellers, truth speakers so that the rights of the people may be protected. As we reflect on Ridley’s life, I wonder if we see the need for truth-tellers in this country or if we are joining with those who are prepared to spin the truth for political gain.”
Greene was interred in the St Barnabas churchyard.
