From the pulse of the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies, late economist Prof Dennis Pantin made a profound contribution to T&T and the Caribbean. Pantin, 61, was Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics. So, it was a most fitting tribute to the celebration of his life which took place at UWI Spec, St Augustine Campus, yesterday. It was also his birthday. The celebration took the form of a full Catholic Mass at which Fr Clyde Harvey officiated.
Pantin, a former Guardian columnist, who popularised the theory of the rentier state, was mourned by the intellegentsia to the grassroots. His last column Education, Knowledge in Knowledge Brew was published on May 2. Drawing upon the Readings from the Books of Micah 6: 1 to 4, 6 to 8, and Matthew 12: 46 to 50, Harvey painted a portrait of Pantin as a man of integrity. He said: "Thanks for a whole life lived to the fullest. It was not just about what he did for himself. His life had a higher focus. So much of life is reduced to ritual. They missed the whole point of living. "Act justly...love tenderly and walk humbly with your God. That is Dennis. Dennis had integrity."
Harvey had a word of advice for the congregation. He said: "God is not a God who acts unjustly. One of the challenges of Micah–often called the Prophet of Unfulfilled Life–was to act justly." He said just like the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt for a purpose, so, too, Pantin had a purpose. "He was about doing something critical for all of human life. You must have some transcendent purpose. It's about the deepest human realities of life." Harvey said Pantin felt a tremendous amount of work should be done at tertiary level. "How do you help the student who has potential but is wasting it?" He lamented the education system had failed, during a conversation with Harvey.
Left:Siblings Marielle and Machel Pantin mourn their father, the late Prof Dennis Pantin. Right: Widow Yolande Pantin assists Fr Clyde Harvey in the Final Commendation and Blessing of the Body at the funeral service of her late husband Prof Dennis Pantin at UWI Spec, St Augustine Campus.
"Most of the gang members are illiterate. Some of them do not know how to read and write. Our schools are the last hope.' I thought he was talking about primary and secondary. It was the university. He said the university was the last hope of the unborn. "He was peeved at people who cannot write proper English...since you wonder what they are reading." Harvey said he, too, hoped university was more than "getting a degree and getting a wuk. I hope that is changing again," he added. He lauded Pantin for choosing the university to find fulfilment and make a difference. On a lighter note, Harvey, a former St Mary's boy, said Pantin often quipped: "St Mary's was the past/Fatima is the future."
More tributes
While flagsman Peter Diaz carried the national colours, tributes were read in Pantin's memory. Among them were his son Machel Pantin. "Daddy was not perfect. He made sacrifices for us. His stay was short but accomplished." His friend/fellow journalist Lennox Grant attended Fatima College with the Pantin boys. Later, he traced their passion for activism and involvement in the Tapia movement. He said: "We had discussion over men, women, calypso. We had good times. But there comes a time..." Prof Karl Theodore said: "He was a humble intellectual. He believed the work we do must make a difference to the society and the region."