LAURENCE Dusauzay married his wife in Saint Lucia in 1971. He thought he would spend the rest of his life with her, but Dusauzay got the shock of his life one day; his wife went to the United States and she never looked back.
It was a hard pill to swallow. The marriage crumbled after 14 years and he’s still trying to come to terms with it. Dusauzay is now 76 years old.
“I was 26 years old and she was about 21 years when we got married. We got married after her mother told me she liked me. I taught her how to drive and I got her most of the jobs she had. We used to dance together; the music was good back then. I wasn’t a good dancer but I was able to do something,” he said.
“I worked for government as a customs officer and she was a typist. After 10 years, I joined the audit department,” Dusauzay added.
According to him, they had “little problems”— nothing they couldn’t solve, and when his wife walked away after 14 years, he was devastated.
“I didn’t think she wouldn’t come back because we had children to take care of,” he explained.
“I applied for her visa. She said she was going to the U.S. to visit her relatives and then afterwards she came back. Then she left again and she has not come back since; it’s about 35 years now,” Dusauzay added.
His wife filed for divorce eventually, however, he refused to sign the divorce papers. As far as he’s concerned, he’s still a married man.
“It wasn’t easy after that. I never complained to people about it. I used to worry a lot but I put my trust in the Lord, prayed and carried on so that helped me,” he said.
“I never went to the States to look for her. I didn’t want to leave my job because I already had over 20 years of service with government and I was not old enough to receive pension. I did not want to (lose my benefits); I only had a visa so I would not be able to stay in the country permanently,” Dusauzay explained.
That was a lifetime ago. Now he only has memories of his wife but he’s learning to deal with it.
“We would have celebrated 50 years of marriage this year and I would have celebrated it with a church service. I’m not mad at her however. Why should I be? We have three children; she gave me three boys. I was just sorry about the whole thing because it affected my life. It’s a family breakdown so it wasn’t easy,” he said.
He continued: “On the other hand, when my house burned down five years ago, she told my son to take me in so I was pleased about that. My advice for people who are going through a similar situation is to trust in the Lord and the Lord will assist you. There is no way you’ll put your faith in the Lord and he’ll break you down. He will help you and you will be able to carry on and you will find that you will be useful to yourself and to others. Don’t hold grudges.”
Dusauzay has been a Justice of the Peace (JP) for over 10 years now and he loves it. You can find him at ‘The Briefcase’ on High Street on weekdays (opposite the Godfrey James Building).
According to him, “many times you help people who have problems and when they get through they come back and say thank you. There’s a satisfaction in knowing you assisted somebody who really needed help.”
He’s also a grandfather. Dusauzay described it as a wonderful experience and his face lit up when he spoke about his grandchildren.
“I have a grandson, he’s 20 something years and he’s very close to me. One day he said grandpa I love you and that means a lot to me. Whenever I see him, I tell him I love you. I love being a grandfather, the children show you love. I have children, I have a reason to live,” he said with a grin, adding, “I’m proud because all my children are good children.”
too bad his wife ain’t a good one.