16139: Schweissing: Michel Funeral in Nassau (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Daniel Schweissing <dan_schweissing@hotmail.com>

Crowd told of drowning victims 'exemplary' lives

Publication Nassau Guardian
Date July 14, 2003
Section(s) National News

By KHASHAN POITIER Guardian Staff Reporter

Reverend Dozier John Michel and Mercelie Michel were remembered Sunday as
"shepherds", who lived their lives for others to follow.

The Michels, along with their nephew Benson Vincent Michel, who all drowned
after their car submerged at Potter's Cay around 9:30 p.m. July 1, were laid
to rest at New Bethlehem Baptist Church.

"Mr. and Mrs. Michel definitely lived lives for others to follow suit,"
Indira Michel said of her in-laws. "Every morning they prayed and every
morning they read their Bible. They set an example for others to lead. I
feel like they were telling everyone affected by them, 'Live right, trust in
God, as all things will pass away'."

The three-hour funeral was attended by large numbers of persons from the
Haitian and Bahamian communities, Bethesda United Missionary Baptist Church
members, of which Rev. Michel was a founding pastor, religious leaders and
police officers, who packed themselves in the church's lower and top floors.

Rev. Michel was born in Port-A-Paix, Haiti on Oct. 2, 1942, and arrived in
The Bahamas in 1963. He later met and married Mercelie Philisnor, who was
also born in Port-A-Paix on March 23, 1848.

Left to mourn, in addition to the couple's six children - two daughters and
four sons, are numerous other relatives and friends, including eight
grandchildren.

Benson Michel, who was born in North Palmetto Point, Eleuthera on May 22,
1983, to Avelina Decuis and Roland Michel, moved to Haiti, where he was
raised and educated, and returned to Eleuthera in 2001, where he satayed
with his father. He came to Nassau in August, 2002, and lived with his uncle
and aunt, the Rev, Dorzier and Mrs. Michele.

He is survived by his parents, three sisters, four brothers, and numerous
other relatives and friends.

At one point, persons attempting to enter the church, were blocked, as the
main entrances were locked shut; the main sanctuary already being filled to
capacity. However, mourners continued to press themselves to the front
doors, hoping that they would be reopened.

As the coffins of the drowning victims were borne into the church in front
of the altar, deafening screams filled the room, as almost in unison, women
sprang from their seats, throwing their arms up in loud, mournful agony.

The Michels drowned during a reportedly blinding rainstorm, when the
family's car drove off the edge of Potter's Cay Dock, after nephews Benson
and Kevin had been collected from the mail boat Eleuthera Express from Rock
Sound.

Though passersby and officers gave assistance, only Kevin was rescued.

As a crowd gathered near the side of the dock from which the car had
plunged, the Michels' son, Rykoh Michel and his wife Carolyn arrived at the
dock to collect other relatives.

Reminiscing on that night, Mrs. Michel said that she and her husband did not
plan to stop at the scene, but she was curious about what had happened.

"I saw a few people gathering by the end of the dock and a police car
flashing, and I told Rykoh, 'Let's go on the side and see what was going
on.' And he told me, 'No man, you are too nosy. You are too nosy.' But I
urged for him to stop so we could see what was going on," she related. "And
lo and behold, his mother died, his father and his cousin."

Friend and church member Levyoyount Deius said that throughout Rev. Michel's
life, no one had a negative thing to say about him.

Speaking to the Michels' six children, Mr. Deius reminded them that, "They
who die in Christ will live again."

Rev. Michel was more than a friend to those who knew him, but a shepherd who
led his flock to Godly lives, he said.

Other relatives remembered the Michels as active "prayer warriors," who
prayed constantly for their family and other people around them, and
everyone was blessed for it.

Neighbour Florence Johnson recalled the Michels as being very pleasant and
caring.

"We spent many times just talking by the gate," she said. "They would ask me
how I was doing and how my boys were doing."

"'I goin' pray for you Ms. Johnson,' Mrs. Michel would say," she related.
"We were just always pleasant to each other. I have never seen Mrs. Michel
angry or upset about anything. She was always smiling, she always had a
smile on her face."

Other persons from the Baptist Wives and Widows Association, the Bahamas
Baptist Association, New Providence Seventh Day Adventists and Reverend Dr.
William Thompson, who officiated over the service, also paid tributes to the
deceased and their grieving families.

Also present at the funeral was Minister of Financial Services, Allyson
Maynard-Gibson, Opposition leader Senator Tommy Turnquest, Senator C.B. Moss
and Free National Movement Chairman, Carl Bethel.

Caption:DROWNING VICTIMS FUNERAL - Reverend Dorzier John Michel, his wife
Mercelie Michel and nephew Benson Vincent Michel were laid to rest on Sunday
at a packed New Bethlehem Baptist Church. Staff photo by Patrick Hanna

Posted Monday 14 July, 2003

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