Deputy to the Governor General, Her Excellency Ruby Ann Darling along with government officials, past and present, visited the House Of Assembly on Monday to view the remains of the late former cabinet minister, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Michael Perry Gomez.
Among those paying their respects was Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis who spoke highly of Gomez. He said, “we have lost a giant of a man whose ultimate sacrifice for humanity was demonstrated in his giving up of a lucrative financial practice to go into a space where he lost most of his patients. Because the stigma of HIV and AIDS during that time he abandoned a life luxury to become a servant of our nation and the world to assist in the fight against the scourge and as you see the fight is being won. And that victory over that AIDS is due in part by the efforts and work of our Bahamian son, Dr. Perry Gomez.”
The Minister of Immigration and National Insurance, the Hon. Alfred Sears was also at the viewing and said, “we have lost a gentle giant. Who has left a powerful legacy to show future generations of Bahamians and Caribbean people that in the kingdom of the mind there is no boundary.”
Former Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham referred to Gomez as a good friend. “Medicine was both his profession and his vocation and his dedicated his life to that. He didn’t make as much money as many other doctors because he wanted to provide service as opposed to pursue monetary gain. And when AIDS came along we were blessed in Th Bahamas to have Perry Gomez as the person with the expertise to deal with it. And he introduced for us things about AIDS that made us a leader in the Caribbean and recognized worldwide.”
The funeral service for the late former parliamentarian is scheduled for Tuesday at St. Agnes Anglican Church.
