Pallbearers take the coffin with the body of Dwayne Gordon to the graveside.
Dwayne “Bull” Gordon was eulogised as a self-made man who spared no effort to take care of his family, especially his wife and four children.
Gordon, who was born on December 25, 1984 to Carole, also called “Baby G”, and Fitzroy Gordon, passed away on November 17, 2022 after suffering two heart attacks.
His sudden death shattered his family and there were no dry eyes at the thanksgiving service for his life on December 17, 2022 at Salisbury Plain Gospel Chapel in St Andrew.
Gordon’s sister Venice Gordon-Mushette remembered him as a mischievous child who had a knack for escaping punishment whenever he misbehaved.
“Dwayne started school long before his time because he always wanted to be with me, and so Baby G had to enrol him in Everton Park Basic School. He would ride his bicycle to school daily while Baby G and I would walk beside him,” Gordon-Mushette said.
She also noted that her brother had a healthy appetite.
“I remember when we were going to St Mary’s All-Age school we would walk from Salisbury Plain to Above Rocks, and every shop or stall that we would pass Dwayne would buy something to eat,” she said.
Describing her brother as “a real foodie”, Gordon-Mushette said he would show up at her classroom door at lunch time after spending all his lunch money.
“Needless to say, he got more money than me, even though I was older, because our parents knew his habit, so I had to ensure that at all times I had enough money for two from the money that I got,” she recalled.
“At dinner time Dwayne would be the first to finish eating and he would ask persons to sell him their food… When our parents separated and mummy was buying groceries for us — because we were now living with our maternal grandmother — his groceries had to be specific and twice the amount that I got,” Gordon-Mushette shared.
She explained that her brother got the nickname Bull because of his stature.
“His size made him more famous than anything else; his Bull trademark was known far and wide,” she said, adding that he was successful in everything he did at school, especially athletics.
Gordon-Mushette also recalled that her brother had become a Christian and got baptised at Salisbury Plain Gospel Chapel.
“At his baptism, the church was full because everyone wanted to see for certain that he made a change in his lifestyle,” she said. However, after he migrated to the United States, “He got distracted on his Christian journey and he walked out on God like the prodigal son.”
It was his love for food that led him to his wife, Shanice, as he met her on one of his trips to Dutchpot Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.
“He was dumbfounded for a moment and forgot his order as he was captivated,” by her.
“Dwayne worked very hard. He drove [a] trailer days on end; he put in the hustle on overtime because he had big dreams. When he started working on his house people said he was dealing drugs because it was moving too fast, and when he got disheartened and stopped working they said, ‘Di drugs money done.’ Mi tell him, ‘Yuh cyaa live fi please people.’ Dwayne had big dreams and his dreams were never selfish. He extended himself to many people, near and far — with or without thanks,” Gordon-Mushette said.
She noted that after he started his company, Bulls Party Rental, although the profits were eaten up in overheads and operational costs in the beginning, he got many stakeholders on board and was able to stage a back-to-school treat for the community of Salisbury Plain.
Additionally, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic her brother organised food packages for the elderly in the area and neighbouring communities. After that he started People’s Choice Restaurant and People’s Choice Clothes Store while still working in America.
“On his last trip to Jamaica, five days before he was scheduled to return to the USA, he suffered a massive heart attack on November 1. After spending 16 days in the hospital the doctors finally agreed that he could travel back to the USA. He got excited about the thought of being reunited with his family but he suffered another heart attack, this time it was fatal,” she recalled.
Gordon is survived by his wife Shanice, sons Dwayne Jnr and Shavoy, daughters Nevaeh and Heaven, parents Carole and Fitzroy, sister Venice, brother Adrian, nephews Giovanni and O’Mari, grandnephew Zyaire, other relatives and friends.
Basil Sinclair, elder of Salisbury Plain Gospel Chapel in St Andrew, hugs Venice Gordon-Muschette after the funeral service for her brother Dwayne Gordon at the church.Photos: Joseph Wellington
Mourners pay their final respects to Dwayne Gordon at the interment of his body.
Dwayne Gordon’s widow Shanice Gordon is comforted by a friend at the interment.
Dwayne Gordon Jnr is a picture of grief at his father’s funeral.
