Late PNM senator Dr Lester Henry’s presence left a lasting impression on the lives of others and he was also an intellectual giant, steady and unassuming, with Senate presentations which were lessons in being vocal without being vituperative.
These tributes were paid to Henry respectively by PNM Senator Donna Cox, Independent Senator Paul Richards, UNC Senator Wade Mark and Senate President Christine Kangaloo in the Senate on Tuesday.
Senators observed a minute’s silence after Henry’s recent passing. Henry served in the Senate from 2010-2020.
Cox said Henry was a walking encyclopaedia on economic matters.
“He never hesitated to share his acumen with those of us whose areas of expertise were outside the realm of economics and monetary policy. This Senate will long remember Lester as the PNM’s chief protagonist in economic issues,” she said.
Recalling Henry as a friend, Cox said he would sit with her for coffee, “listening to my stories, allowing me to vent, and then, with just a few words, capture not only the essence of how I felt, but the direction which I should follow.”
She said his many contributions “demonstrated his affinity to those who found themselves in the constituency of the rejected, and the band of the unheard. Ever mindful of his own upbringing, he’d often say this senatorial work was to give a voice to those who weren’t heard.”
Cox said Henry was the political product of an age when the joy and nobility of politics prevented differences of party, platform and philosophy from becoming barriers to cooperation and mutual respect, “A time when adversaries still saw each other as patriots.”
She said it unfortunately is a spirit sorely lacking now.
“His sudden passing has served to drive home the reality of our mortality... What we can do though, is to embrace the opportunity and gift of each new day to live our lives as best as we can, with purpose, with love, and with joy.
“We can use our time in this Senate to treat each other with the same kindness and respect we wish for ourselves, utilise our time here to truly be of service to the 1.4 million citizens, not only those whose support brought us here. Hopefully, if one day we’re blessed with the opportunity to look back at our time in this space, we’ll know we spent it well, made a significant difference, and our fleeting presence had a lasting impact on others’ lives—this is how Lester lived. This is his legacy.”
Richards said Henry would greet him in Parliament as “Tall Man” and he’d greet Henry as “Short Man.”
“He’d say ‘gimme some of that height nah’. I’d say ‘when you gimme some of that brain’,” Richards added.
“He may have been short in stature but was an intellectual giant, a patriot, a consummate teacher giving freely of his knowledge... someone who said our responsibility was to ensure the next generation did better than we did ... He sought the best for T&T.”
Mark said Henry was quiet, steady and unassuming and contributed in a meaningful and critical way to the Senate and T&T.
“He played his part and left his mark.”
Kangaloo said Henry’s contributions were passionate but tinged with humour and were lessons in how to be vocal without being vituperative.
“His death was a shock to us all and serves to remind us, tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us,” she said.
