Beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, friend, coach and mentor to many, Paul Slinger died on Friday, 21 October 2016, surrounded by family at his home, “The Tower” in St Paul’s, after a long illness. He was 82.
Paul was born on 25 October 1933, to Dr Leonard A P and A Vera Slinger. Paul’s family were from Victoria in the parish of St Mark. His early childhood was spent in St Lucia where his father served as Surgeon at the Victoria Hospital in Castries.
During his boyhood and adolescence he attended Brighton College in England where his infectious love of sports earned him many an award in swimming and rugby. Over the course of the past 40 years, Paul introduced into Grenada the Carenage–to–Grand Anse Cross-Harbour swim race, the Hash House Harriers, and the Grenada Triathlon.
As a young man, Paul served as an officer in the British Guiana Volunteer Force, and then worked as a senior executive of American Life throughout Caribbean, before returning to his beloved island home to raise his family.
He served in the Grenadian government, and his profound love and passion for Grenada, combined with his unfailingly hospitable and gentle manner as the Minister of Tourism, earned him much praise and affection from everyone he encountered. To Paul, there was no place on earth like Grenada.
In 2010, Paul was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen. He is survived by his beloved wife Victoria, his younger brother and sister, Nigel and Sonya, his 3 daughters Isabelle, Anne-Marie and Sarah, their mother Mary–Ann, and his grandchildren Nerine, Laya and Max. He will be sorely missed by all his family and friends.
