Dr Daniel Dawes remembered as no-nonsense man
SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — When Caswell Dawes was in his final year at Manning’s School his mother insisted he would have to go to school without shoes, as they were unable to afford footwear for him.
He had planned to skip school, to avoid the embarrassment, but his brother Daniel had a plan. He convinced Caswell to wear his sister Olive’s shoes to school.
That was one of the stories an emotional Caswell shared recently during a thanksgiving service for the late chief executive officer (CEO) of Universal Service Fund (USF), Dr Daniel Henry Dawes. He would give anything to relive those moments.
“Oh God, Daniel, can you give me Olive shoes again so that I can wear? I will never take it off. Please give me Olive shoes so that I can wear now. Can I beg you one more chance, my Lord? Lord give me a gift. God, give me a gift. One thing, just give me back Olive shoes. Let Daniel give me Olive shoes just to wear it one more time,” said a distraught Caswell as he broke down in tears and had to be assisted off the podium by a family member.
They were two of 10 siblings whose parents were far from rich, but Daniel did his best to make life bearable. This passion for education and helping the less fortunate, especially children, carried over into other areas of his adult life. But for people who didn’t know him, Daniel’s no-nonsense approach sometimes caught them off guard.
As noted by Robert Montague, chairman of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) which counted Daniel among its members, his frank and outspoken attitude meant people either liked or disliked him.
For his part, Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunication and Transport Daryl Vaz drew parallels between himself and Daniel.
“I used to get complaints all the time: Daniel was aggressive, arrogant. I said to them, ‘There’s a difference. He’s not arrogant; he just wants to get the job done and he is overzealous in doing so,’ because I have to protect him.
“And the fact of the matter is that he and I were so like-minded… I said to them, ‘Just easy yourselfm man, don’t worry about Daniel. Just tell me what you want and we will get it done’,” Vaz related.
He said Daniel was also someone who paid attention to details and automatically took charge of any situation, regardless of who else was there and their level of authority.
“He’s calling all shots… including where you stand up, including fixing jacket, tell me to tuck in my shirt in the back, and position everybody. Nobody could say a word because Daniel was in charge — not only as a CEO in office but [with] anything [there was] to do. They call him Sergeant Major,” relayed Vaz who later announced an education scholarship in Daniel’s memory.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett who, like the late CEO, is from Westmoreland, revealed that he was the one who got Daniel into politics. He also reminded those gathered to pay their respects that once he felt comfortable enough to enter representational politics, in 1997 Daniel insisted that he wanted to take on the giant in Westmoreland Eastern — former Prime Minister PJ Patterson.
Daniel Dawes was found unresponsive at his home in St Andrew on May 24.
The 61-year-old was also a public health inspector, a former teacher at Godfrey Stewart High School, a former university lecturer, and former general manager of the Transport Authority.
He is survived by his four children, widow Arlene, friends, and relatives.