Remembering A “Nice Guy” and Decent Human Being
A Salute By Michael Derek Roberts
Editor, Caribbean Times News
I first met Kenton Kirby around 1990 when the Caribbean Life Newspaper was formed. I was then the Editor of Carib News, the oldest and most prestigious newspaper in New York City. We hit it off immediately, short me and this tall, hulking bear of a man with a soft voice, easy smile, and friendly disposition. It was a curious relationship for two opposing ostensibly Caribbean newspaper editors to become buddies. But Kenton, known to close comrades as “Skevicks,” was a friendly, easy-going, caring man with a big heart. Besides journalism, we had another thing in common: We were from the Caribbean Windward Islands Islands. Me from Grenada, and he is from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“Kenton was just a very giving person. One who would give you his last dollar – if you needed it. No questions asked. He was easy to get along with and a consummate professional in the newspaper business. I will miss him greatly,” said Mike Babwar, the publisher of Caribbean Times News and a close friend and associate of the former Editor of Caribbean Life for over 20 years. “He was just a gentle giant, big teddy bear. He was one of the nicest persons I know,” Babwar added.
I had the distinct honor of traveling to Barbados and St. Lucia with Kenton as part of a delegation of Caribbean journalists living and working in the United States who attended these annual tourism conferences. On both occasions, we found time to sit around the bar – he was not a big drinker – and talk. Just talk about everything Caribbean and how we, as journalists, could help develop and build the entire region. When we returned to New York, we kept in touch, and whenever we met up, it was always a warm, friendly exchange. That’s the kind of person Kenton was – no pretenses, hang-ups, or superiority
complex. Just an honest, people person with a down-to-earth “Vincentian charm” (you could never miss the Vinci accent!).
Mike Babwar and I visited him at the nursing home, where he died about two months ago. Surprisingly, even with his mental challenges, he immediately recognized us both, and we remained with him for more than an hour as he ate his supper unassisted. It, therefore, came as a big shock to us to learn of his sad passing.
Kenton Kirby, the Vincentian-born Editor Emeritus of Caribbean Life, the Brooklyn-based Caribbean-themed newspaper, died on Tuesday, September 6. He was 76 years old. He was born on September 15, 1945, in the Central Leeward town of Barrouallie in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
As a young police officer in the local Vincentian constabulary, he also excelled in playing the trumpet in the police band and other prominent musical groups in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. On leaving the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Kenton became a crack reporter for a local Vincentian newspaper, rising to become its chief reporter. He was also a correspondent for the Barbados-based Caribbean News Agency (CANA), now renamed Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC); the United Press International (UPI); Radio Barbados; and Radio Antilles, the now defunct, Montserrat-based radio station that was considered the most powerful and prominent in the Eastern Caribbean back in those days.
Kenton Kirby was also a public information specialist. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in mass communications from the University of the West Indies and a Master’s Degree in journalism from the International Institute for Journalism in Berlin, Germany. Caribbean Times News extends its heartfelt condolences and sympathy to his family and many friends.
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