Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer - Family, friends and other mourners watch as the body of Douglas Chambers is carried out during a service of thanksgiving held at the Sts Peter and Paul church, St Andrew, yesterday.

Tendai Franklyn-Brown, Staff Reporter

Lead by example or suffer the consequences of your actions, was the stern caution from the Rev Kenneth Mock Yen, who officiated at the thanksgiving service for Douglas Owen Chambers, former executive director of the Jamaican Urban Transit Com-pany (JUTC).

"Dougie's death is a wake-up call to all of us," he said "Let's get back to the basics, the gracious courtesies, because children are watching what you do and not what you say."

Mock Yen urged the congregation to use its actions to influence lives positively and emphasised the impact of simple gestures.

Pay their respects

Hundreds of people, led by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, flocked to Sts Peter and Paul Church in Liguanea, St Andrew, to pay their respects to Chambers yesterday. He was slain outside the state-owned Twickenham Park depot over two weeks ago.

JUTC buses parked outside the premises as workers attended the ceremony, alongside former prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller, leader of the People's National Party, to pay tribute.

Radcliffe Butler, one of the many friends who referred to Chambers as an outspoken, no-nonsense person, said the former JUTC man had estab-lished high standards for him-self and others in a bid to make a difference in public life through the JUTC.

Sharing similar sentiments, mentor and friend Mike Henry, minister of transport, disclosed that he had faced similar threats on his life as he was shot in the '70s, but counted himself as lucky for surviving.

Ultimate price

Henry regarded Dougie as an enterprising individual who took on tough challenges and prevailed.

"The JUTC was one such example, whereby the objective of Chambers' post was to root out corruption and halt the $100-million loss the company was haemorrhaging annually," he said.

"Douglas left an undeniable mark on the country's landscape and showed good leadership qualities, which he displayed in the business arena. For the greater good of the country, he paid the ultimate price for his work," he added.

Chambers, who will be cremated at a later date, leaves behind his wife and two daughters, as well as many friends and relatives.

tendai.franklyn-brown@gleanerjm.com