By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 1, 2021 – The floodgate opened and tears flowed freely when I saw Tristan Lockhart’s post on Facebook that Rev. Dr. J. Emmette Weir died last night and it took me almost half-an-hour to compose myself before calling his bother, Dr. Roger L. Weir, one of my best friends in Washington, D.C., to express my condolences.
Roger has been a very good friend from when I previously lived in D.C. for 21 years before returning to The Bahamas “permanently” in 1996 and he has been very supportive financially during my current economic crisis as I struggle to avoid eviction.
I did not know Emmette and Roger when I was growing up in Nassau, but I knew their younger sister Sheila very well from I was a young reporter at The Nassau Daily Tribune in the early 1960s, and I also know their other sister Miriam. One of the reasons why I did not know Emmette and Roger when I was growing up in Nassau is because their parents — Gaspar Weir, a successful land surveyor, and Eunice Weir, a teacher – placed a great deal of emphasis on their children receiving a good education and both Emmette and Roger left Nassau in their teenage years to pursue further education abroad.
The Weirs were long-term devout Methodists, and Emmette chose to pursue a career as a theologian, while Roger, who developed an interest in brain functions and psychiatry and at the age of 18, left The Bahamas to finish advanced high school and later entered London University for training in the field of medicine.
Both have had distinguished careers in their chosen fields. Roger was one of the first accomplished Bahamians in the diaspora that I featured in my BAHAMIANS IN THE DIASPORA series of articles when I was Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at the Embassy of The Bahamas for four-plus years before the Free National Movement (FNM) became the government in May of 2017.
In that article he recalled that he began his “medical schooling was at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, one of the oldest hospitals of the English-speaking world.”
“I did a medical and surgery internship in the United Kingdom and in 1967 began a psychiatry internship at Harlem Hospital in Manhattan, New York,” he added. “In 1968 I began a three-year neurology residency at Kings County/Downstate Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. My work there included a movement disorder clinic managed by Arthur Lapovsky.”
Dr. Weir’s more than four decades at Howard University started in 1971 when he was hired as an instructor of neurology at Freedmen’s Hospital, the forerunner of Howard University Hospital, and he “initially worked there half-time while I also worked doing bench research at the National Institutes of Health.”
In 1967, Freedmen’s Hospital, which had served the black community in Washington, D.C. for more than a century, having been established in 1862, was transferred to Howard University and used as a hospital until 1975. The University Hospital is now located in a modern facility at 2041 Georgia Avenue, NW.”
Dr. Weir’s basic science research continued for over 15 years while working full-time in neurology at Howard, and in 1973 he became an assistant professor of neurology and subsequently an associate professor, which is his current position. From 1990 to 1995 he was Chairman of the Department of Neurology.
Meanwhile, the late Rev. Dr. Emmette Wier served as a Methodist Minister for many years in Grand Bahama, where I lived for 12 years before moving to Washington, D.C., as Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager the Embassy in 2013, and I got to know him very well. He was a prolific writer and often submitted commentaries to The Freeport News when I was its Editor.
He also wrote several books, including PRAYING THE LORD’S PRAYER TODAY, published in 2018. It is available on Amazon with the following PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
“Why did the disciples ask Jesus how to pray, rather than ask how to do the ‘big things’ like healing the sick and raising the dead? It is because they saw Jesus pray more than anything else.
Praying the Lord’s Prayer Today, a deep, practical, well-researched exploration of Jesus’s profound teaching on prayer, will inspire you to pray more, to pray more effectively, and to walk more closely with the Lord.
This book will give you a refreshing perspective and move you to want to experience more of the power of prayer in your life. Are you ready for the challenge?”
An indication of the iconic status the late Rev. Dr. Weir achieved as a Methodist Minister is reflected in this statement on his death released by Bishop Theophilus Rolle, President of The Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA), The Bahamas/ Turks and Caicos Islands Conference:
“Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is with an extremely heavy heart, and deep seated emotions of grief and loss, that I informed you of the passing of the Rev. Dr. J. Emmette Weir. Sometime around 9pm this evening, He peacefully transitioned from this life and went to be with his Lord.
The magnitude of the loss of one of our most notable Bahamian religious icons and distinguished luminaries will be felt throughout our region. At the moment no amount of words or platitudes can fill the aching void in the hearts of his family, church and wider community. Most assuredly, this loss is immense.
Let us all lift up before God in much prayer Mrs. Ena Weir (wife), Ellsworth and Erika (children), and the entire Weir family.
May God almighty grant unto him eternal Rest In Peace and May he Rise in glory!
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; even so says the Spirit; for they rest from their labors (Rev. 14:13).”
Let add my condolences to the entire family. May his soul rest in peace.
