Noted photographer and archivist Jeffrey Chock was cremated yesterday following a short service filled with tribute to both the man and his work. Chock died on August 1 at 70. The funeral at the St James Crematorium, Long Circular Road, St James, was attended by his fellow artistes and collaborators, including dancer Sonja Dumas, playwright Tony Hall and veteran masman Peter Minshall.
Also attending were Dr Kim Johnson, who worked with Chock on a book project in 2009, dancer Noble Douglas, Dianna Mahabir-Wyatt and photographers Abigail Hadeed and Stephen Broadbridge. The eulogy was given by his friend Agnes Berkley. Berkley grew up with Chock in Belmont and looked after him when he fell ill. In 2008, Chock suffered a heart attack and a subsequent kidney failure while in Toronto.
Yesterday, Berkley said although Chock sometimes expressed disappointment about the lack of recognition for his work, he was proud of his photography. She hoped Chock’s work would be given the place it deserved and that he would be properly rewarded even in death. Minshall, who knew Chock since the 1960s, described him as a connoisseur and a man with an astute mind and eye. He said his documentation of Carnival was insightful.
He added: “It were as though he was using it to say to us all, ‘here child, I will show you the world. I will show you how beautiful you indeed are.’ “He knew you had to dig into the mud of J’Ouvert to find nuggets of gold. He knew J’Ouvert is where it all begins and where it all ends. We must be very grateful to this man for the insights into ourselves that he, through the luminosity of his lens, was able to reveal.”
Minshall also read a tribute written by artist Jackie Hinkson. Chock, Hinkson and Minshall travelled together to England in 1963. Dumas said dance history in T&T might not have been documented were it not for Chock. Hall also read tributes from many of Chock’s past students and colleagues abroad (he worked closely with Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, for many years). Tributes were also presented by Charles Hee-Houng, a childhood friend, and Professor Samuel Kinser, a friend and colleague.
Chock had only two relatives attending the funeral—his niece, Lygia Gibbings-Isaac and her son, Darryl, who both live in London. According to Gibbings-Isaac, Chock has a brother in Texas who was not well enough to attend the funeral. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews.