John Anderson, a Vincentian-born chemical engineer currently working at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, who lives in Bowie, Maryland, says renowned Vincentian architect Moulton Mayers left his “architectural handprint on the landscape of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
Mayers, a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic, died on Feb. 10 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.
He battled colon cancer for five years, according to his cousin, Garnes Byron, a prominent Vincentian community activist in Brooklyn. Mayers was 70.
Byron said Mayers designed many large buildings in Kingstown, the Vincentian capital, including the National Insurance Service headquarters and the Bank of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Reigate Building.
In eulogizing his longtime friend Mayers, at a two-plus-hour-long funeral service on Saturday, March 5 at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, on Beverly Road, near Ocean Avenue, in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Anderson said he had forged a “lifelong friendship” with Mayers, who was “an outstanding son of the soil.”
“He went abroad to develop and complete his formal education in architecture before returning home to the land he loved,” said Anderson, breaking down, as his wife left her seat to try to console him.
“Moulton was a pioneer and a patriotic Vincentian,” he added. “Vincentians salute and proudly recognize him for his accomplishments in the development of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
Anderson said his “lifelong friendship” with Mayers began when they were students at City College, City University of New York (CUNY), and were roommates for three years.
“As his roommate and friend, I saw firsthand Moulton’s architectural work,” he said. “He would line the walls of our apartment hallway with drawings that he had prepared for his class projects. Anyone seeing his work was in no doubt that he was going to be a successful architect.”
After graduating from college, Anderson said Mayers began his professional career in New York City, working with an architectural company.
“It did not take long before he was promoted to manager, supervising his peers on the construction site,” he said. “With the urging of his father to come back home, Moulton packed up and returned to St. Vincent (and the Grenadines), resigning from his lucrative position in New York to work with his father.”
On returning home, Anderson said Mayers established his architectural consulting company and built his office and residence at Mc Kies Hill in Kingstown “n a steep gradient that only an architect would consider building on.
“This construction demonstrated that Moulton was serious, and no challenge would be too great for him to conquer,” he said.
During his professional life in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Anderson said Mayers “designed and built many commercial and government buildings, residential homes, and made additions and alterations to many more.”
His said Mayers’ most prominent designs included: The National Insurance Services Headquarters (NIS building); The St. Vincent Building and Loans Association Bank; The Ministerial Office Building; The Reigate Building, also known as the Bank of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; The Marion House; The Forestry Head-Quarters; The School for Children with Special Needs; Bequia Revenue Office Building; Union Island Secondary School; Fancy Community Centre; Hotel Alexandria; and Dr. Stephens Residence.
Anderson said Mayers also worked on a project in St. Lucia, and was refitting some schools in Antigua and Barbuda.
In 2012, Mayers was awarded the MBE by Queen Elizabeth II of England.
He was also an Honorary Ambassador of the Czech Republic to St. Vincent and the Grenadines for many years, Anderson said.
He said Mayers was elected president of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Institute of Architects from 1996-1998.
“Moulton was distinctly a creative genius,” Anderson said. “He was highly intelligent, using his imagination and intuitive skills to create art made from concrete and steel.
“He did not let his early academic struggles deter him from striving for greater accomplishments,” he added. “Granted, he had his father who encouraged and supported him financially. But once he discovered his gifts, he did not allow anything to stop him from achieving his goals.
“Farewell my friend, you have done very well, your work is done, you will be missed by your friends and family,” Anderson continued. “Rest in peace.”
In reading the obituary, Mayers’ cousin, Roslyn Mayers, said Moulton Theophilus Mayers, was born in Prospect in East St. George, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to Stephanie Antoine and the Late Milton Theophilus Mayers, Sr., MBE.
Roslyn said Mayers graduated with a diploma in architecture from Humber College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1977.
That same year, he migrated to New York and attended The City College of New York, later graduating with a B. S. Arch.
In 1981, Mayers earned a M.S. degree in urban designing/planning from Pratt Institute, New York.
Roslyn said Mayers had been practicing architecture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Caribbean for the past 36 years.
“If you have been in and around Kingstown, there is little doubt that you have seen or entered some of the structures designed by him,” she said. “He credited his father for his entrance into the realm of architecture. He said he was enthralled watching his father work.
“He often referred to him as his idol architect and contractor, who constructed a breathtaking array of iconic and impressive buildings across the length and breadth of SVG (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and made his mark in other Eastern Caribbean countries, especially in St. Lucia , Antigua and Barbuda,” Roslyn added.
“He followed in his father’s footsteps and placed his architectural stamp on the landscape of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. And became a renowned local architect who designed his breathtaking array of iconic and impressive buildings across the length and breadth of SVG,” Roslyn continued.
In 1972, at a farewell party for Adrián Saunders, who is currently Chief Justice of the Trinidad and Tobago headquartered Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Mayers met Yvonne, “the love of his life,” Mayers said.
She said they were married 10 years later, and were blessed with three children, Melissa Mayers Morris, Melanee and Michael Mayers.
Dr. Cadrin E. Gill, Honorary Consul General of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in Los Angeles, CA and Julian Belgraves, of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines United Network of California, presented Yvonne Mayers with a plaque during the funeral.
Howie Prince, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Consul General to the United States, described Mayers as “a true son of the soil.”
“Moulton left his hand print in the Caribbean, particularly in St. Vincent and the Grenadine,” he said. “Moulton was a great counselor; I benefited a lot from his counseling.
“Besides being a consummate professional, he was also a diplomat; he was a diplomat to the Czech Republic,” Prince added.
Besides Yvonne and their children, Mayers is survived by, among many others, his grandchildren and son-in-law; his mother; brothers Rudolph, Stanley, Carlton, Milton, Jr., Marcus and Dawrance Mayers, and. Shorn and Patrick Hunt; sisters Elma Gabriel, Sally Benjamin, Marilyn Mayers-Neverson, Marcelle and Maxyn Mayers. Maferne Mayers- Oliver, Annmarie DeCoteau, Judith, Antoinette, Magna, Bridgette and Carla Antoine; aunt Lillian George; uncle Grafton Mayers; nieces; nephews; cousins; and sisters and brothers-in-law.
