Sir Leton Thomas departed for the Great Beyond on Wednesday 17th January 2024. During his nearly 5-score years in our midst, he left an indelible mark on the landscape of human and cultural development in our country.
Born in Vieux-fort to Bertrand and Josephine Thomas, Sir Leton was destined at birth, for a long and fulfilling association with the Roman Catholic Church, the education system and music. In those days, the three vistas were almost inseparable.
After completing his primary school education, Sir Leton joined the staff of the Roman Catholic School in Vieux-fort at the relatively tender age of 16. Two years later, he was transferred to the Castries Roman Catholic School.
His rise through the education system was meteoric. At the age of 24, he was appointed as a teacher-trainer, a role that he occupied for 14 years on either side of completing an Associate Diploma in Education at the University of London’s School of Education. While in London, he pursued a part-time course in the techniques of playing the piano and organ. In 1964, he completed a Master of Arts Degree in Education majoring in Education Administration at Columbia University in New York. Armed with these impressive qualifications, he scaled the ramparts of Saint Lucia’s education system, serving as Inspector of Schools, Chief Education Officer and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Culture.
The RC Church provided Sir Leton with an early immersion in music, for which he had a natural affinity. Under the tutelage of Rev. Father Charles Jesse and Mr. Chester Catlow, the musical director in Saint Lucia at the time, he made such rapid progress, that he was appointed as Organist and Choir Master of the Castries Cathedral. It was easy to know when Sir Leton was at the organ, as his playing was infallible, reflecting many long hours of practice. It was a joy watching his diminutive figure sitting with a straight back behind the grand organ at the Cathedral, tapping its pedal keyboard, with the sure-footedness of a Mr. Bojangles. The choir boasted some of the finest voices Saint Lucia had ever produced such as Elizabeth Theobalds, Miss Clauzel and Emmanuel Springer Snr.
Sir Leton was the quintessential patriot. Wherever he roamed and whatever he did, he placed the interests of our fair isle above all other interests, including his own. During his seven-year stint as coordinator of UNESCO’s Caribbean Network for Innovation in Educational Development, based in Barbados, Saint Lucia was always on his mind.
It was entirely fitting that he would later serve as the founding Principal of the SALCC from 1987 to 1995. He brought to the role, an ocean of rich and varied experience, upon which he drew heavily to set the foundational policies, strategies, procedures and regulations that continue to support the College’s organizational culture and the expansion of its teaching and learning programmes.
His vast and imposing legacy as an innovative Principal included: the establishment of the College’s Vieux-fort campus. I vividly remember him coming to see me at the Ministry of Planning to discuss his vision for the campus. He sought my assistance to secure five acres of land for the campus. I suggested 10 acres to cater for the projected population growth of the south. But he was adamant that five acres would be more than adequate. He didn’t want to deprive other public sector agencies of land for their own use. He oversaw a substantial increase in scholarships so more teachers could pursue higher education overseas. He pushed for attractive compensation packages to support the recruitment and retention of talented faculty and staff. He established a Department of Continuing Education that helped to give the SALCC its community character. He established the School of Agriculture and the College Farm, as well as the School of Nursing.
In addition to his immense contribution to the growth and development of SALCC, we acknowledge with sincere appreciation his transformational leadership of our country’s education sector. He presided over the steady expansion of the school system, particularly in the increase in the number of secondary schools. In addition, he pioneered the adoption of many novel approaches to teaching and learning.
I came to know Sir Leton and his wife when they lived in an ample house on Chausee Road -a stone’s throw from my home on inner Grass Street. I was a mere boy then, with a voracious appetite for mangoes; and so, I and my boyhood friends threw many stones at the Thomases mango tree. The mangoes would fall to the ground where they rotted until we found a way to pull Sir Leton’s two mean dogs away from the tree. So, I got to know Sir Leton’s mangoes far earlier and more intimately than I got to know him. Many decades later, when I confessed my fruitish misdeeds, he laughed heartily and said, “There was a much easier way, you know. You could have asked, and you would have gotten all the mangoes you wanted.”
Sir Leton Thomas was a model citizen and a devout patriot whose love for our beloved Saint Lucia has served as a beacon to many generations of our people. Sir Leton left us more than an anthem to stir our hearts, minds and souls. In my mind, he is unquestionably the father of our tertiary education system. But even more than that, he has left us with a clear map to our future. The question that all of us here must continually ask ourselves is: how do we use the legacy of Sir Leton and our Laureates and those whose names adorn the buildings at SALCC to build a sustainable future for our country?
We pray that the Good Lord will continue to grant Sir Leton’s soul, peaceful and eternal rest and that perpetual light will shine upon him.