Ashton Gould

Ashton Gould passed away at the George Town Hospital on Monday, 23 February, at 12:40 am, after a long period of illness. He joins his brother Winston and daughter Bevo who were called to rest earlier. He was 86 years 7 months and 5 days old.

Mr Gould was born on the 18 July, 1917 in the parish of St Mary in Jamaica. He was the son of Lethia Nelson of Jamaica and Edgar Gould of the UK. He was the eldest of five children, one sister and four brothers, two of whom preceded him in death.

In 1947, Mr Gould met Amy Benjamin and they were united in marriage in March of 1951. From this union nine children were born. Bevo Harris (who preceded him in death 17 months ago), Elaine, Everett, Claudia, Hope, Judy, Locksley, Alcot and Lisa.

Mr Gould was also the father of Neville, Winston and Roy from a previous relationship, whom the couple raised. Prior to marrying Amy, Mr Gould served in World War II as a Militia Artillery soldier.

In February of 1956, Mr Gould travelled to the Cayman Islands to seek employment. He joined his brother Winston Sinclair who had migrated to Cayman in 1946. Mr Gould obtained employment at the old Light Plant at Boilers.

In 1958, Mr Gould became a seaman serving on the SS Commonwealth as a cook. Mr Gould then worked for Mr Rupert Moxam as a baker in his bakery on Mary Street.

He later obtained employment with the Wholesome Bakery on North Church Street, owned and operated by Norberg Thompson. Later he obtained employment with H O Merren & Co Ltd, as a Clerk and Supervisor for the Hardware Department where he worked for some seven plus years. While at H O Merren & Co Mr Gould was nicknamed "The Old Dutch Cleanser" by Mr Dalkeith Bodden. This was because he had a knack of restoring old or returned appliances, cleaning them up to look like new and saleable.

He had a heart for business and, in May 1977, he and his wife Amy, obtained a clothing store business in the Rock Hole area of George Town.

The business was a success and expansion was soon necessary. Being the entrepreneur that Mr Gould was, he obtained property at 117 School Road and thus the construction on his own building began.

In October of 1982 with the building half way completed the business was moved to its new location on School Road under the name of Gould's Drygoods and Groceries.

He and his wife Amy enjoyed many years of successful business until their retirement in 1999. They also developed a very close relationship with the children of the George Town Primary School. Some of these children, now grown-ups still have a very high regard for Mr Gould and would not hesitate to give him a hug whenever they meet him.

In January of 1982, Mr Gould suffered a heart attack, which resulted in open heart surgery and obtained three bypasses. He was flown by air ambulance to hospital in Miami on five different occasions.

In 1997, he was outfitted with a pacemaker at the Baptist Hospital and in 1998 a defibrillator, among other things. His grandchildren joked that he was a "cyborg" (half-human, half-robot).

Mr Gould had many near death experiences and many times his family thought that was the end of him but each time he bounced back like new. He had a strong faith in God and never ceased to credit his existence to God.

Mr Gould was quite a storyteller and had a story for everyone from toddler to the elderly, be they family or stranger. His family members often sat around as he reminisced about the good old days, about his life experiences as a soldier in World War II, the earlier years in Cayman with the mosquitoes, and about his seafaring and other travelling experiences, but most of all, "duppy" stories from his earlier years in Jamaica.

As you can see, Mr Gould wore many caps, soldier, seaman, baker, businessman, father, husband, uncle, grandfather and many more. Just as he wore many caps, he was called many names. To his children, he is "Daddy", "Papa", or "Papes", but has been affectionately called "Papa" by all who knew him well.

To the grandchildren he is 'Grandpop", or "Grandpa", his Agape family members call him "Bro Gould" and to some seniors Ashton, but Ms Amy, affectionately called him "As" or "Ashton".

He was a good provider for his family, ensuring that all their needs were taken care of and the bills paid. Coming home from work in the evenings was very special to his children, something they always looked forward to.

That is because he seldom came home empty-handed, even if it was only a bag of candies. One of his favourite family pastimes was to pack his wife and children into his little Volkswagen Buggy and take them driving just for the fun of it.

Sometimes the ride took them to North Side to catch crabs, to East End or other places. This was usually after a hard day's work and God bless his efforts, but sometimes it became night so quickly, there was not a lot to see but the moon and stars in those days.

Mr Gould was no great singer but there were a few songs he considered his favourites, some of which make up the funeral programme. Another of his favourite pastimes was to gather his children together early in the morning for devotion when he and his wife would instruct them in Christian values.

During this last period of hospitalisation and on 13 February, just 10 days prior to his passing, a great-grand-daughter was born to Mr Gould whom he had named Destiny prior to becoming so ill.

He also had the privilege of seeing this baby while on his sick bed in the hospital, a few days after her birth.

Mr Gould was a faithful member of the Agape Family Worship Centre for several years until his passing. Mr Gould loved the Lord and one of the things he appreciated most of all, was the prayers of the saints who visited and prayed with him during his illness.

During those times you could always hear him testifying of the goodness of the Lord. He was always expressing thankfulness to the Almighty God. He had indeed experienced God in miracles of healing, prosperity and in many othere areas of his life.

Yes, he shared numerous testimonies of God's deliverance and of his power. Mr Gould knew God. He had an intimate relationship with his God.

In the latter years of his life he became a great contributor to Christian education in the Cayman Islands by sharing in the vision of his daughter Judy Williams and assisting her in her ministry with the International Seminary Satellite Class.

Mr Gould was hospitalised at the George Town hospital on 12 February. As usual, his wife, Amy was by his side constantly until the time of his passing on Monday, 23 February.

Mr Gould is survived by his wife Amy, five daughters; Elaine Richardson, Claudia Hadome, Hope Schirn, Delfene Williams and Lisa Houben; six sons Neville, Roy, Winston, Everett, Locksley and Alcot, 55 grandchildren, 55 great-grand children and one great-great-grand- daughter; two brothers, George of UK and Carl of Jamaica, one sister Hazel of UK, two sisters-in law, three sons-in-law, six daughters-in-law, nieces, nephews and a host of other relatives and friends. He will be sadly missed by all