Veteran Government Engineer laid to rest

Georgetown: The body of veteran engineer Walter Willis, of the Public Infrastructure Ministry, was cremated on Friday at the Good Hope Crematorium, East Coast Demerara, following a moving Thanksgiving Service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Brickdam, Georgetown.Mr. Willis died at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital late last Monday, after being admitted on Saturday. While on treatment, he entered into a state of coma from which he never regained consciousness. He was 66, and would have turned 67 later this month.
A 17-year veteran at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI), Willis, who commenced working with the then Ministry of Transport and Hydraulics on May 3, 1999, had been employed as the Technical Adviser to three successive ministers: Anthony Xavier; Harrinarine Nawbatt; Robeson Benn; and finally, Minister David Patterson.
Among the hundreds joining the bereaved family members in paying their last respects to the fallen engineering icon were Minister of Public Infrastructure (MPI), David Patterson; Minister with the MPI, Annette Ferguson; Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase-Greene; former President of Guyana, Donald Ramotar; Mr Beni Sankar; Walter Willis’s son, Dr. Christopher Willis; and his daughter, Sonja Willis.
In the many tributes rendered in his honour, Mr. Willis was remembered for his sterling contribution as an engineer to the Government and people of Guyana. Minister Patterson, in his tribute, described Willis’s passing as a great loss to the ministry, adding that he would be sorely missed. On behalf of His Excellency President David Granger; Minister Annette Ferguson and other cabinet ministers, as well as the staff of the MPI, Minister Patterson extended profound sympathy to the widow of the deceased, Mrs. Dolly Willis; their three children, and other bereaved family members.
“Mr. Willis will be remembered by all as a dedicated worker who went above and beyond [the normal call of duty] to ensure the proper execution of all projects under his remit. He was always willing to offer advice, and (he) worked meticulously. He was also fondly known to all as a stickler for protocol, and could be seen traversing even the hallways of the Ministry with a safety vest on,” the minister recalled.
With a passion for his work and a desire to always be in a state of readiness to respond to the task at hand, Willis was always dressed in his safety vest and broad-rimmed sun hat, by which he had come to be easily recognized. He had been tasked with overlooking a number of Government projects, including the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion project, and had been serving as Technical Advisor to the Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson.
Ironically, Willis’s last assignment with the minister was on the Friday before his death, when he accompanied the minister and a team of officials, and later briefed members of the media on the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion project. On that occasion, Willis had observed that the magnitude and height of elevated works to the main runway at CJIA would be a first for any project in the history of this country, and he had provided statistics on aspects of the project.