Dear Editor,
As a believer and a Christian, I am more than aware that all of us who live will one day die. Indeed, it is written that it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment. So it is with my late benefactor, friend, and mentor, the Hon. John Henry Bostwick, KC. On behalf of myself, my wife Antoinette, and my non-profit organization, Common Cause, I extend deepest and sincere sympathies to Dame Janet G. Bostwick—his wife and lifelong partner—their children, and the wider Bostwick/Johnson clan.
Many decades ago, after my return from the UK with an LL.B., I came home due to a family emergency, during which I was obliged to assume responsibilities for my family businesses on Market Street and Wulff Road. I applied for articles in the chambers of the late Hon. Paul L. Adderley (a/k/a “Cannonballs”) and the late Lawrence P. Trenchard. For purely political considerations, I accepted an offer from the latter.
In my second and final year as an articled clerk, a position became available within the distinguished law chambers of Messrs. Bostwick & Bostwick, which I readily accepted. The rest, as they say, is history. Henry’s forte as a highly noted and respected defence attorney was one of the main reasons I entered his chambers—located, to this very day, on George Street just below Government House. He taught me 90% of the law, across the board, that I came to know and appreciate. He was the consummate practitioner, and his professional ethics were always of the highest standard.
Henry was a hands-on lawyer, often representing the least of the least of Bahamians for a pittance—or completely pro bono. He was, in my view, not about fame or money. He was, up to his last days, a God-fearing individual who, to my personal knowledge, was motivated by love of country and a dedication to making life better for the average Bahamian. He was a longtime member of the vestry and congregation at Ridgeland Park Anglican Church. Indeed, if I may say so, while serving Bahamians—especially here in New Providence—he also served and worshipped his God.
He was a successful family man and the husband of one wife—the now Dame Janet Gwendolyn Musgrove-Bostwick. They raised four children, all of whom have entered the legal and real estate professions. Their son, John, briefly stepped into the political arena, and I would hope that he returns to the frontlines—if only in memory of his late father. But we shall see.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Henry entered frontline politics and was elected to the Honourable House of Assembly, eventually serving as Leader of the Bahamas Democratic Party. He was also involved with the FNM for many years and served in public life as a Senator and President of the Senate on several occasions. Indeed, Henry lived a full life of service to the masses of Bahamians—regardless of race, colour, creed, or religion. He may have had ambitions to become Prime Minister of our wonderful nation, but that, alas, was not written in his stars.
I, personally, owe a debt of gratitude to Henry that I will never, in this lifetime, be able to repay. Again, had it not been for Henry, I probably would never have been admitted to The Bahamas Bar and certainly would not have excelled—as I modestly say—as the most successful and sought-after criminal defence attorney in the nation.
Rest on, beloved and venerated Henry, as you continue to advocate in the celestial courts for the least of the least among us. To God, however, in all things, be the glory.
Sincerely,
Ortland H. Bodie, Jr.
Business Consultant & Talk Show Host
