AN ICON OF COMMUNICATION, CULTURAL
AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION
A Tribute to Dr the Hon. Barbara Gloudon C.D., O.J., D.Litt (Hon)
By the Most Hon. P. J. Patterson, ON,OCC, OE, QC
The passing of the Hon. Barbara Gloudon represents the dimming of a cultural and creative light that shone brilliantly for many decades across the great expanse of the Jamaican media, broadcasting, artistic and religious landscape. Our nation has lost a cultural and creative icon, who is now a legend of that generation to which she belongs.
She put to optimal use her mastery of language and facility with the written or spoken word, to profoundly and positively impact national life through written and radio journalism, public relations, tourism marketing, the theatre and the church.
I first met the vivacious Barbara Goodison, when I worked during Summer holidays as a sports reporter at the Gleaner, located at Harbour Street in downtown Kingston. Working under the watchful eye and exacting tutelage of the great Dean of Caribbean journalism Theodore Sealy, a veritable tutor, mentor and no-nonsense leader, she was a prize pupil at The University of Harbour Street.
Barbara, by the early 1960s, had already emerged as a significant force to be reckoned with in the Gleaner newsroom. That was no easy feat in a male dominated newsroom. She went toe to toe with experienced and opinionated journalists in any debate and would not hesitate to raise her decibel levels or shrink when others resorted to colourful language which would attract penal sanctions.
In the most vigorous exchanges on an open editorial floor, she combined her sharp intellect, with her wicked wit and acute sense of humour as devastating weapons in self defence or attack.
In short order we developed a close and healthy friendship through conversations on topical issues and, we often shared anecdotes heard from her mother Doris who hailed from Harvey River in Hanover and my mother, Ina, in the adjacent village of Kingsvale.
Given my many years of association and mutual exchanges with the entire Goodison family, Barbara was to me more like a sister, who was always there to give encouragement and support when the going was tough. She was honest – at times brutally so, genuine and had a caring heart.
Many a suitor appeared, but this attractive young lady with fastidious taste, was not prepared to extend her hand until the handsome Ancile Gloudon appeared. It was a lifelong partnership conceived in love, nurtured by their religious passions and blessed with the gifts of Lisa, Jason and Anya.
An eager and astute journalist with an agile mind and abundant energy to get the full story first but exactly right, Barbara found her niche as a chronicler par excellence of the social norms, achievements, aspirations, ills and failings of the Jamaican society. The Stella columns of the 1970s, gave both depth and colour to Jamaican life at an exciting but admittedly difficult period in the evolution of the nation. She drew on her reservoir of artistic creativity to “tek bad sinting mek laugh”, while always highlighting the dignity, humanity and remarkable resilience of the Jamaican people. She insisted on maintaining the authenticity and historical importance of their bewildering journey.
Barbara Gloudon’s brand of journalism was progressive and development oriented. There was no place for the wanton parading of the salacious private details of people’s lives. It was to uplift and inspire confidence in ourselves as a people to attain the highest standards. Her noble journalistic principles were central to the professional tenets by which she lived and worked.
Her departure from a job she loved and a corporate establishment to which her entire working life had been devoted did not mark the collapse of her illustrious career. For a women of indominable will it marked the dawn of a new horizon where she could reveal her remarkable array of talents. It was an epic transition.
Her entry into the field of competitive external communication and destination marketing as Deputy Director of Tourism was a welcome gift to an industry confronting strong headwinds even as we were preparing it to become a major sector in the national economy. She was a precious asset to Jamaica at a moment when the country needed the service of its best talents in this sphere. Barbara utilised the opportunity of her Tourist Board engagement to place our country in its proper context for visitors and as well to engage, educate and motivate the Jamaican diaspora to a more complete appreciation of their country and promote it as the destination of choice.
“Miss G” strode effortlessly and impressively into the homes and lives of countless Jamaicans from all backgrounds, when she later moved to radio as a social commentator and talk show host. There she dictated the shape and powerful influence of Hotline’s dynamic role.
Mrs. Gloudon highlighted her deep connections with the Jamaican people whom she profoundly understood and who found in her someone who was never afraid to use her soap box to champion their cause or articulate their needs and aspirations to those in authority.
Barbara Gloudon not only provided a powerful voice for Jamaicans, regardless of their station in life, but also took seriously her responsibility to inform and educate her listeners. In so doing, she was an unrepentant advocate for the qualities which account for the respect we command and the powerful impact we have made on the global stage. She held firm to the belief that Jamaica is at its core, a society of excellence, superb creativity, peace, love, goodness and mutual respect.
Her exploration, depiction and artistic packaging of the ancestral impulses and social, cultural and economic reality of life in Jamaica formed a great part of her tremendous legacy as a writer and producer of radio dramas and national pantomimes. She was an integral part of the Little Theatre Movement. Barbara’s artistic works mirrored the struggles, but she also portrayed the triumphs and resilient spirit of Jamaica and its Diaspora.
Barbara Gloudon has a strong religious conviction that was a quiet source of her personal professional strength. Her work in the Anglican church was a lesson in discipleship that exemplified Christianity in action through spiritual leadership, community service and charity.
Dr The Hon. Barbara Gloudon, C.D., O.J., D.Litt (Hon) was of the finest vintage. In each of her myriad professional pursuits, she climbed to the very top of the mountain. The Lord in His mercy has called her to enter the celestial city and her beloved and faithful husband Ancile left a few days before to welcome her through the gates.
We pray at this time of double loss for Lisa, Jason and Anya for the strength and endurance which transcend human understanding.
In their grief, Howard, Bunny, Kingsley, Karl, Keith, Lorna, Lorna and Nigel are required to summon the will to comfort each other and now be the united force to ensure that their sister’s tremendous achievements in so many facets of our growth as a nation will never be forgotten but instead be an inextricable portion of that foundation on which we must build harmony and a better Jamaica for all.
At this time of incalculable loss for The Gloudon and Goodison families, I offer heartfelt condolences and offer the thanks of a grateful nation for Barbara’s sojourn among us.
May the flame of love and hope she kindled in our native land never be extinguished as her soul is now at rest in everlasting peace.
P. J. Patterson
May 2022