Black River, the original home of Munro College, gave birth to it in 1856, and it turns out it was no coincidence that it also gave birth to Dave Lyn in 1953.
His parents, Henry and Phillis Lyn, operated a dry goods and clothing store which doubled as a little university to sharpen Dave in arithmetic and develop his people skills. Dave’s five siblings would have benefitted from that University. They are Trevor, Shirley, Jeanne, Annette, and Patrick, who also attended Munro.
Dave entered Munro College in 1965 and his interest in academics, especially math, put him consistently in the top five in his form. Surprisingly, however, his O’ level results were disappointing, but he did better in a resit a year later at St. Georges while working at his first job.
He enjoyed a full life at Munro, and was no boring bookworm. He loved to dance and sing, and was a vocalist in the school band as well as the bass drum player in the Cadet Corps. He was into the things that Laddie of blessed memory sold to the boys in season – like gigs, stilts, and kites.
An avid sportsman, he did rifle shooting, was an avid padda player, and was on Munro’s First X1 football team from fourth form. He won the Henriques Shield while playing hockey for Munro and also represented the school in tennis.
He was not a member of ISCF, but that was because he was a Roman Catholic, and in those days, Catholics were not allowed to take part in Protestant worship. He does, however, attest to his faith providing him confidence and joy in his endeavours.
Dave left Munro at the end of fifth form and worked in the accounting firm of Daly Campbell Heron and Smith for five years. At the end of this, the firm gave him a scholarship to Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, where he studied accounts from 1975 to 1978. He married the lovely Lorri-Ann Hendrickson in 1977 and they had three children, Elizabeth, Matthew, and Sarah and to fast forward, they have provided 5 grandchildren., Dylan, Isabel, Zander, Lucas, and Benjamin.
His sister Jeanne, who lives in Canada spills the beans on her beloved brother who used to ride a fast motorcycle and drive a yellow Mini-Cooper with a heavy foot. With a mixture of pride and joy she describes Dave’s love for family and friends and the fun – and food – they have when they get together.
After Concordia Dave worked at Karl Hendrickson’s National Bakery from 1978 to 1993 as Finance Director. Then he struck out on his own in an ice cream venture that went cold for undercapitalization. He froze that one in 1996 and became Managing Director of Caribbean Broilers Group. There he presided over expansion and growth as well as diversification into pigs.
His thinking on how to structure his retirement is typical of him. At first, he thought of alternating six-month spells in Jamaica and Canada where his mother resides. He envisioned
the sheer unsettled state and decided to live in Jamaica and visit his mother, who will score a century next year.
In 2011 he retired and became an avid golfer. When the MCOBA holds its annual Lindy Delapenha Golf Classic Tournament, Dave is always front and centre.
Supporting our golf tournament is the latest way in which Dave supports the Association and the school, as he remains one of those devoted old boys who truly never left Munro. He served as Vice President to Robert “Bobby” Stephens, Dr Brian Morgan, and Peter D. Chin in their incumbencies as MCOBA President. He has also served on the Board of Governors for Munro College as Vice Chairman to Greg Shirley and then as Chairman in 2013.
In addition to his years of service to the association and the school in these and other roles, Dave has quietly become one of the school’s most generous philanthropists. He has made substantial financial donations to the school, and is a big contributor to the old boys association scholarship fund launched in 2016, funding grants to teachers as well as students.
Today, for the above and other reasons, we proudly induct Mr. Dave St. Aubyn Lyn into the Munro College Old Boys Association Hall of Fame.
