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Vincy community
leader passes on
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn-based Vincentian community
leader Augustus L. “Bonnie”
McMillan died on July 22 after ailing for
about two years, according to Wayne
Raguette, president of the group, Vincentian
American National Charities,
Inc. (VINCI), who succeeded McMillan
after his affliction. McMillan was 64.
Hundreds of Vincentians, Caribbean
nationals and others showed their last
respects to McMillian, a certified public
accountant (CPA) by profession, at
a funeral, on July 31 at St. Augustine’s
Episcopal Church on Avenue D
in Brooklyn. His body was interred
the next day at Canarsie Cemetery in
Brooklyn.
“His presence was missed over the
last two years,” said Raguette, a Brooklyn
political consultant about McMillan,
who worked in one of the twin towers
of the then World Trade Center in lower
Manhattan before the 9/11 terrorist
attacks.
It was uncertain whether the attacks
had any effect on McMillan’s health.
His family did not disclose his cause
of death.
“We believed he’s gone too soon, but
God always knows best,” said Raguette
in his eulogy. “It is said that those who
we love don’t go away; they walk besides
us every day, unseen, unheard, still
loved and very dear.”
He described McMillan, also a former
VINCI treasurer, as “a go getter,” who
“believed strongly that he didn’t have to
tell members what they needed to do –
that they were there for a purpose; and
they should get up off their behind and
get the job done.”
“He gave of his time generously and
his finances when the organization
was struggling,” Raguette said. “Gus
(Augustus) was the one who, several
times, came up with the deposit to pay
for the hall for our annual luncheon.
“He was quiet, dedicated, a little fiery
when he argued a point; but always gracious,
even when under pressure and
when he lost his point, but always ready
to assist,” Raguette added.
In reading the obituary, Alicia McMillan,
one of McMillan’s seven children
whom he had with his ex-wife, Joan
McMillan, said her father was born on
Feb. 15, 1955 to the late Eileen McMillan
and Conrod Ottley in Mesopotamia
in the Marriaqua Valley in St. Vincent
and the Grenadines.
She said her father was “a student
all his life” and that education was “his
passion.”
“There seemed to be something in
him that worked like a sponge, waiting
to absorb any knowledge that was available,”
Alicia said. “And, for him, learning
was fun.”
She said McMillan received his formative
education at the Marriaqua and
Belmont Government schools in St.
Vincent and the Grenadines.
In pursuit of the American Dream,
she said McMillan migrated to the United
States, where he earned his Bachelor
of Science degree in taxation from
Brooklyn College, City University of
New York (CUNY), and a Master of Science
in the same discipline from Washington
School of Graduate Studies.
In addition, Alicia said her father
earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees
in law from the University of London.
“It is that passion that she shared
with her children,” she said about
McMillan’s penchant for education,
adding: “Daddy challenged everyone to
live up to their greatest potential, and
he provided his children with the support
they needed.”
Alicia said her father “loved to write
and tell stories, and was an accomplished
author of two books and many
articles.”
In his book, “Beyond the Statue,” she
said he wrote about “longing for the
American Dream.”
She also read excerpts from his novel,
the title of which was not mentioned.
“’The morning of my graduation, I
walked away from my home wearing my
suit and carrying my gown in a bag…’,”
Alicia quoted her father as writing. “’My
journey had reached its end. I was finally
saying goodbye to my trip through
the doldrums of poverty’”.
She said McMillan had over 20 years
of experience in accounting and business
development.
She also said he worked for many
years as a financial analyst with the New
York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).
Besides being a CPA, Alicia said her
father was a commodities trading advisor
and “a beloved college professor.”
She did not disclose which college or
colleges he taught at.
Laverne McDowald Thompson,
president of the Brooklyn-based Vincentian
umbrella group in the United
States, Council of St. Vincent and the
Grenadines Organizations, U.S.A., Inc.
(COSAGO), told Caribbean Life briefly
that “many are left to grief his (McMillan)
love, his compassion, his dedication,
his service to the community, his
kindheartedness and his humbleness.”
Besides Alicia, McMillan is survived
by his six other children – Osric, Laurina,
Allister, Natasha, Yolene and
Yolande; 10 grandchildren; 10 siblings
– Douglas, Randolph, Bernadette, Jennifer,
Checkley, Erlene; Ingrid, Brian,
Grafton and Maxine; and two aunts –
Thelma Johnson and Ester DeSouza.
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