When Roger Downing arrived in Tortola in 1969, he thought was passing through. Instead, he made the Virgin Islands his home, raising a family, founding an architecture firm, and literally helping to build the territory as it grew.
Following a period of illness, Mr. Downing died at home on May 7 at age 72, after what his sons Thor and Marc described in his remembrance book as a “perfect last day together.”
Mr. Downing’s professional contribution to the territory can be seen in his firm’s projects, which range from Pusser’s and Little Dix Bay, to the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
He also was involved in many service groups and societies in the territory. An avid gardener, stamp enthusiast, Rotarian and conservationist, Mr. Downing received tributes from many residents and organisations for his memorial service Saturday at St. George’s Episcopal Church.
Mr. Downing also served as a member of the board of the National Parks Trust for 20 years, shaping projects such as establishing mooring buoys; restoring the Virgin Gorda Copper Mine; and establishing the Anegada Rock Iguana Rehabilitation Project and the territory’s system of protected areas, NPT chairwoman Sheila Brathwaite wrote in her tribute.