Sir Barry Bowen, KCMG, was a giant of a Belizean and on Tuesday he received an official funeral.  It began with a procession from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital through the main streets of the city, which were lined with school children and spectators wanting to get a glimpse of his coffin with a Belizean flag draped over it as it was escorted by the BDF’s marching band and transported on a military gurney.  The official funeral took place at Saint John’s Cathedral where Prime Minister Dean Barrow, First Lady Kim Simplis Barrow along with several Ministers of Cabinet, Members of the House of Representatives, and dignitaries including the US Ambassador attended. 

The official remembrance was given by the Leader of Government Business in the Senate and UDP Chairman Doug Singh who reflected on Sir Barry as, “a true Belizean,” who, “did not restrict himself to the bottling and distribution business.  He ventured into shrimp farming, energy production, cattle and other agricultural tourism ventures that helped to create more employment for Belizeans and increase the country’s exports.”  Senator Singh concluded that, “Bowen enterprise has lost a leader.  His wife has lost a great husband, the children a great father, and Belize has lost a great son.” 

John Searle who grew up with Bowen on Southern Foreshore was more introspective, describing Sir Barry as a child who “was handsome, headstrong and daring” adding that, “it was he that excelled in everything that he did.  He had to; he would not accept second best under any circumstances.”  The internment was at the family plot at the cemetery in San Ignacio Town next to his father Eric William Mansfield Bowen and his mother Emilie Josephine Bowen.