Ken Chand a truly real Caribbean Man is remembered - Grand Cayman

Teeluck Kenneth ‘Ken’ Chand born in Guiana June 2nd 1948 passed away in the hospital emergency room in George Town Grand Cayman on Ash Wednesday February 6th 2008. The passing of this short in stature but talented and most likeable man was from a heart attack.

His service of thanksgiving at Grand Cayman’s First Baptist Church was attended by individuals from all walks of life including the Leader of Government Business, other political leaders, the Chief Justice to name a few.

There were a number of eloquently delivered and obviously sincere tributes from his wife, daughter, family members, friends, employers and co-workers. In true Caribbean style there was a live steel drum musical presentation of Ken’s favorite Bob Marley’s songs. Everyone got to know Ken better from the speakers who spoke in superlatives of his many attributes, skills, idiosyncrasy, kindness, love of colorful clothes, cricket, cooking, dancing and his strong loyalty to his family and work.

In true Caribbean style, many of his family and friends wore bright red rather than the traditional black, as he would have liked it. The ceremony ended with a previously unrecorded live song by his friend Dave Martins another Caymanian icon born in Guyana. The song elaborated on the truth that one does not recognize the value and worth of some thing until they lost it. Ken rediscovered his roots and Caribbean values as did Dave Martins and made his home in Cayman for over 25 years after coming out of the cold.

Everyone who spoke included the pastor, made deep impressions on listeners. However, the true measure of Ken Chand was the tribute from his employees read by Jacqueline Morris. This tribute is reproduced below.

“People come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime, and when we know why they are there, we know exactly what to do.” These words were penned by Michelle Ventor and seem exceptionally appropriate in this setting. This afternoon, there are many individuals here who know that Ken came into our lives to touch us for a reason or a season. And for the really blessed among us, he came to us for a lifetime.

I have been allowed the signal privilege and honor of reading this tribute on behalf of employees of Motor and General. I worked closely with Ken until December 2004. On Tuesday afternoon, the day before he died, I had the tremendous and humbling gift of hugging him, kissing him on the cheek, and sitting in his presence, chatting and laughing with him while he poked fun at me.

First, allow me to express sincerest condolences to Lynette, Nadira, Jason and all family members who are present here today. I pray that God will comfort you and give you peace and solace at this very difficult time.

In addition, allow me to place on record my sympathies to all individuals who have been profoundly impacted by Ken Chand whether as a friend or a colleague. The Insurance Industry in the Cayman Islands has suffered the loss of a giant of a man and our resident motor specialist and all of us in the Industry join in mourning his loss and in celebrating his life.

If you had a question about an unusual car, you only had to make one call and Ken would provide a clear and unhesitant answer. As a colleague commented, if it drove like a sports car and looked like a sports car but you were in doubt, ask Ken. And if Ken said it was not a sports car it was not a sports car.

This tribute is read on behalf of the following employees who worked with Ken on a daily basis and knew him the way only employees can. Shirley Jervis, Giovanni Michelin, Lillieth Ellis, Deena Whittaker, Elizabeth Ebanks
Harry Jaggerbnauth and Madennys Ebanks.

In life, we face many difficult tasks, but this is one of the hardest things we will ever have to do in our lifetime. Ken Chand, the man who brings us here today, was not only our boss, but also a father, a friend, an advisor and a grandfather to our children.

We will never meet another individual who was always so willing to give us a first chance, a second chance and as many chances as we needed to get it right. Shirley comments …. “He gave me a job just out of high school and I am glad that he did, because if it had not been for him, I can assure you that my accomplishments would not be what they are today.”
He taught us many values. He taught us compassion. He taught us how to be leaders. He brought out the best in us. He taught us survival skills and he taught us insurance.

We never made big personal decisions without first discussing it with Ken even if we did not eventually follow his advice. When we asked him for advice he would tell us the truth. He would not say what he felt that we wanted to hear.

Ken was argumentative. He was never afraid of an argument. He was never afraid to make his point and provide the necessary supportive reasons. He was never afraid of a confrontation. He believed what he believed and he often tried to convince us to share his views.

Ken Chand was definitely not a “Yes” man. He had his own views and he held them with unrepentant and unhesitant passion and fervor. He was strong headed and often behaved like he was always right. However, in the same moment, he was always very caring, compassionate, kind and sympathetic.

He made himself available to us every day of the week except Mondays. That was his day to be in a miserable and grumpy mood. And on a Monday Ken gave new meaning to the word “grumpy” and we knew that we needed to stay away, far away. But how can we mention the name Ken Chand without mentioning his openhearted, open-handed, unconditional generosity. He was generous to a fault. We are convinced that persons from all over the world would arrive in Grand Cayman, ask an arbitrary man on the street for help and be sent to Motor and General to see Ken.

We saw people from all walks of life come to Mr. Chand for advice and assistance. Individuals would come from far and wide for food, shelter, clothing, a place to spend the night, a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear.
Ken would always see them and if he did not, then you knew he was extremely busy. Persons would often leave his office with a smile on their face. They would leave better than they arrived because he was always able to give the gift of hope and the gift of practical advice and help.

Ken took his work very seriously and we know without a shadow of a doubt, that we will never find another like him. He worked Saturdays, Sundays, Public holidays, evenings, early mornings and late nights. He never took lunch hours or sick days and rarely took vacation.

His ultimate goal was to ensure that Motor & General was operated to the best of his ability. Many persons thought that he owned Motor & General because he was so passionate about the company. Ken could not have made a greater contribution to the company if he owned it. He gave Motor and General all that was within him and if ever he found any extra he gave that as well.

He was not only our Manager, but also our Accountant, our Claims Manager, our Underwriting Manager, our Human Resource Manager, our Maintenance Manager and our Miscellaneous Manager. He did every and anything that was required to ensure the smooth running of our office.
He was always concerned about his staff and always wanted to ensure that we were paid the salary increases and bonuses that we deserved. He would always promise to make it up to us. That is the kind of manager that he was, always putting the company’s interest first, always putting his employees first.

The girls in office always said that Ken had a soft spot for Shirley. Therefore she was always the one who went to Ken with any request because we knew if Shirley asked we would get it.

Ken Chand wore large shoes and has left large shoes to be filled. Our hope and heart’s desire is that whoever succeeds Mr. Chand will continue his legacy. He worked very hard to build Motor and General and we would like to see his hard work celebrated and built upon.

We pledge to do all in our power to continue because we know that is what he would want us to do. Our company now has a large void and in our humble opinion it will never be filled because Mr. Chand went beyond the call of duty in serving the company. He performed his job very well.
Ken was under a lot of pressure recently especially in respect of claims handling. He was very concerned about some large claims that would be coming up for hearing and in recent days this consumed his attention.

Shirley comments “As a matter of fact, the last conversation I had with him the day before his death, he commented that he was very, very tired and needed to just hire someone to help, especially with the claims.”

Ken was not a churchgoer but in many ways he lived a Christ-like life. Our understanding of Christ when he was on earth is that he went about doing good for everyone regardless of who they were or where they came from.
Ken has touched so many lives because he went around doing good for so many persons.

An employee comments, “I used to always say to him that I can’t understand why you don’t attend church. In response he would say “I don’t want you to preach to me today” and walk away. We could not understand this because he seemed to be assisting every person that contacted him with his or her needs. He was so considerate in every situation.

We have been blessed to share space with Ken, to share life with Ken to get to know Ken. As our manager he has touched our lives and changed us forever. As our friend he has bent over backwards to be there for us.
As our father figure he loved us, cared for us and provided for us as only a father could.

We love you Mr. Chand and we will always love you.
We will surely miss you today and for a long, long time to come.
May your soul rest in peace. YOUR GIRLS AT MOTOR & GENERAL.

Submitted February 16, 2008 by Lee Maragh Cayman Correspondent

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