Remembering Uncle Eldred and Aunty Marjorie: a family photo evokes warm personal memories
From the personal blog of Amelia Fitzjohn Broderick, retired U.S. diplomat of Sierra Leonean descent
Time passes by so quickly. I know we say that all the time, but today as I reflect on the photo of the christening of one of my baby brothers – Walter Henry Fitzjohn – I am filled with fond remembrances of a magnificent childhood in Freetown. Yet the photo also stirs feelings of sadness as I see so many absent souls – now all the adults in the photo are gone. Emeritus Professor Eldred Durosimi Jones (seen in photo with me) is the most recent to join the group of erstwhile beings, now on the heavenly side. Gone before him are my beloved parents, his own dear wife Aunty Marjorie, other favorite uncles and aunties, and even a cousin and a dear friend – both closer in age to me. And as I now start my 8th decade of life, I often ask myself – where indeed have all the years gone?
My 4th brother was born on June 7, 1958, on my parents’ 11th wedding anniversary. Walter’s Baptism probably took place around September or October of ’58. The ‘family’ photo was taken after the Church service, in the garden of the King Memorial (then) Evangelical United Brethren Church (now United Methodist) in downtown Freetown. Aunty Birdie Marjorie Jones was Walter’s godmother and Uncle Francis Caulker and Uncle Charles Snetter were his godfathers. Uncle Eldred is standing in the back row at the left in the group photo below (there are more details about the photo later).
My earliest recollections of Uncle Eldred and Aunty Marjorie are from 1953 at Fourah Bay College (FBC), where he and my father were both lecturers. The Joneses were still newly-weds when they arrived on campus. Their first house was not too far from ours; theirs was on the right side of the road leading up to the campus, across from the tennis courts, which came right after the Harry Sawyerr’s house. A long set of steps led up to Uncle Eldred’s house. He loved to recall my mother’s visit to them one evening (unannounced, as was the practice in those days). Mummy called out to them from the steps to turn on their outdoor lights, and upon doing so, she saw a snake on the last step and ventured no further. Instead, she yelled out: “Well that ends the visit! I’m off! (well, nah di compin done so oh! Me dey go home).” Uncle Eldred had a good laugh, persuaded her unsuccessfully to ignore the snake, and apparently shared little sympathy. He retold the tale often in the ensuing years, and with much glee. He was such a tease!
In my childhood, I recall demonstrable expressions of affection between my parents. As a couple, Uncle Eldred and Aunty Marjorie were also loving and attentive to each other; they took long walks together (and that’s before the Royal Canadian military exercises became part of their routine)! With their many other friends, they exchanged hospitality, regularly hosting small dinner parties. Aunty Marjorie, my mother and other lady friends would also have their afternoon teas, which I loved to listen in on as I tried to piece together bits of information from their conversations to make some sense in my little mind of the larger Freetown world!
The Jones’ first daughter, my good friend Esse Mary, was part of the family by the time they were settled in their second house on campus – – a little larger space, just behind the water tank, on the right, off the road to Kortright – – back of what is now the women’s dorm, the Lati Hyde Hall. At that time, lecturers’ homes stood where the dorm is now; in fact, I recall two lecturers of Education from the UK, Miss Hirst and Miss Dolphin, who shared one of the houses in that spot. The Jones’ second home became one of my favorite stopping places. Esse Mary got her first two-wheeler bike before I did, but I got to learn to ride at her house, as she was quite disinterested at first. Uncle Eldred was a patient and kind teacher. In fact it was to their house I went on the one occasion when I ran away from home, with overnight case in hand, after my mother had given me one of her rare but stern reprimands for my totally untoward behavior addressed to the impatient next door neighbor. I was kindly received by my Uncle and Aunt, but my mother was informed, and a family delegation enticed me back home.
[*details of the photograph of Walter Fitzjohn’s christening: The scene: probably around October or November, 1958 – in the back garden of the King Memorial Evangelical United Brethren (now UMC) Church.]
In the back row from the left are: (Professor) Uncle Eldred Durosimi Jones (note his center part – a swanky hairstyle at the time!); Uncle Francis Caulker (Walter’s godfather, my father’s cousin, a pharmacist); Aunty Farmetta Snetter (wife of the Liberian Ambassador); Mr. Gyasi Twum (Ghanaian lecturer at Fourah Bay College); my mother – (Rev) Muriel Alice Ayodele Fitzjohn; my father – (Rev Dr) William Henry Fitzjohn; Queen Betts-Cole (a retired teacher/office administrator, my friend and school mate, her parents were close to mine); (Dr) Uncle John Karefa-Smart (my father’s cousin and best man, a physician and later Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone and then an international civil servant)
Front row: standing from left Maude Marie Conteh (my cousin and dear friend, Mrs. Abayomi-Cole, owner of a health center); Florie and Marjorie Thorpe (twin sisters of Queen – Florie is Mrs. Malcolm Cole – Marjorie has passed on); seated: Rosalee May Karefa-Smart (my ‘twin-cos’ as we call each other and dear friend, former haute-couture model & communications specialist); ME; Uncle Charles Snetter (Walter’s godfather, Liberian Ambassador to Sierra Leone); Aunty Marjorie Jones (Walter’s godmother – note her chic style, an artist and couturier of some repute); don’t recall?? another godparent? (where’s my mother when I need her!) – likely a Fourah Bay College lecturer or a missionary friend of the parents; my brothers: going clockwise from front/extreme right – Kwame (now a media specialist), William (doctorate in civil engineering), Dwight (a Building Inspector), and our late cousin, John Karefa-Smart,Jr (Johnny-boy – he became an architect).
My mother was a Math and English teacher at FSSG in Freetown; Aunty Marjorie was an artist and a designer, which allowed her to work from home, and to be from the start an intimate and trusted friend, an alter-ego, a supporter of her beloved husband. Even way back then in the mid- to late- 1950’s, the mothers occasionally practiced car-pooling. My mother would bring Esse back home from school with us, but sometimes Aunty Marjorie would bundle all four of us into the back of her round-bellied Austin Minor and do the same. Incredible how those two women would daily ply the precarious hills of Mount Aureol with such apparent ease (rumor has it that they were both better drivers than their husbands!). We got to know the homes of our mother’s and aunty’s favorite cousins and friends in the city, as they would make those stops on their way back home from the school – back up the hill.
Playing together as children on the campus’ open spaces or in the yards (back garden spaces) of our homes was frequent and did not require advanced notice – no play dates, no concern about our physical safety, but we knew we all had to be home before dark (aunties tossed you out, if you stayed too late) – by then I must have been about 7 or 8. But we did look forward to the planned birthday parties. Esse was lucky that hers was in January when the weather was good; my August birthday was in the rainy season. Books were the most common gifts we gave and received; a reading culture was encouraged for us.
In 1959, when my father was asked to open Sierra Leone’s first Diplomatic Mission to the US, we left behind this idyllic life on the mountain-top with million-dollar views of the ocean, and the comfortable relations with special people like Uncle Eldred, Aunty Marjorie, and my dear friend Esse Mary. How I missed them on the boat trip across the Atlantic.
Fortunately, my sense of loss was short-lived, as a few months later we were all together again. Uncle Eldred got a grant to do research at Washington’s Folger Shakespeare Library. They rented space from an African-American lady, Edna, who lived not too far from us and who became their lifelong friend. Among the memorable occasions of that period were when Esse Mary and I got to be bridesmaids for “Mr. Chrispin” and “Ms. Theresa” Renner’s wedding; Aunty Marjorie designed beautiful outfits for both of us.
The research work which Uncle Eldred completed at the Folger led not only to his doctoral dissertation at Durham, but to two published works: “Othello’s Countrymen” (1965) and “The Elizabethan Image of Africa” (1971), and contributed to his being recognized as a Shakespearean scholar of repute.
My appreciation of and love for Uncle Eldred, Aunty Marjorie and Esse Mary as persons of import in my life started from my childhood and lasted for the rest of their lives. Even though nothing could ever quite substitute for the joy of those early days at FBC, none of the Joneses was ever very far from my family or me, even as I have grown up and matured. While it would be impractical to elaborate on even my infrequent interactions with them while they were at Kortright (K-25), that period is highlighted for me as one in which their family increased — with more daughters and nieces gained: Jeannette Rose, Mimi, Nemata, among them. In that time the reputation of their Christmas Eve reception grew, with invitations coveted by their friends on campus and in the city. Theirs was always a home filled with laughter and love. For much of that time, I was away for college and graduate school and only in Freetown for occasional vacations, but I heard of how well-liked Uncle Eldred was by his students, and later when he became the Principal and then pro-Vice-Chancellor, of how skillfully he managed the students’ distresses.
When I decided to review and analyze the then-available body of Sierra Leonean Literature written in English and Krio for my graduate thesis at Howard University, Uncle Eldred was a tremendous source of encouragement and leads. I admired his own work on the Krio language and the Krio-English dictionary, which he co-authored with Professor Clifford Fyle. Ironically my husband Modupe is also a Krio language enthusiast and did his doctoral dissertation work on critical theory and the Krio oral narrative; he and Uncle Eldred always had lots to chat about.
In 1974, I was a sister-advisor to Esse Mary when she married Dr. Flavius Thompson. What an event that was: “the wedding of the year” in Freetown! Aunty Marjorie replicated on a much grander scale what she had done for Esse and me for the Renner’s wedding in 1960 in Washington DC. Now for this major occurrence in their family’s life, she designed and sewed all the outfits for the entire wedding party, and I mean for everyone – not just the bride and groom, but for the entire bridal party, and even tailored Uncle Eldred’s tails! And for herself, she did not only custom make a stunning outfit – but my Aunty being a creative spirit donned two different but complementary earrings on the day – one a stud and the other an unusually styled drop earring! She intended to make a statement, and that she did, as the striking mother of the bride [and yes, of course, got lots of queries about the earrings, from: “did you know your earrings don’t match? (eh Birdie you know say you mix up de yehrin – nah de confusion enh!)” to “isn’t that remarkable, what you’ve done!”]. And through it all, she looked outstanding – not a bit tired after ALL those many hours, days and weeks of preparatory work.
Five years later, I was honored to be a godmother for Esse Mary and Flavius’ daughter Didi (Birdie-Onike) and to remain close to Esse until God called her in 2002. My sadness at losing a childhood friend came nowhere close to the pain I felt for them when Uncle Eldred told me how unnatural it was for a parent to bury a child! Yet they bore their bereavement bravely.
Panelists at book launch
Modupe and I were delighted to host Uncle Eldred and Aunty Marjorie for several days in the late 1990’s when Conakry was a transit stop to Freetown and we were posted there. What fun we had together, sipping French reds and catching up on the years. They had us in awe and slightly incredulous as they recounted their tales of bravery and ingenuity when faced with the possibility of an attack at their home by rebel soldiers. With stories like that, I really was grateful for the opportunity to catch up with this special Aunty and Uncle. [In one of our “girl asides” — Aunty Marjorie reflected: “who else would I have married in my age group, if Uncle Eldred hadn’t been there?” – so deep was their affection for each other! And oh, how I miss those story times with her!]
The audience at the book launch
More recently, how pleased I was to source out support for them from the US Embassy Freetown Public Diplomacy grants (with Ambassador Tom Hull’s concurrence) for their Knowledge Aid project (2007). Uncle Eldred’s desire to give back to a wider group of young people lead to the creation of the non-profit, which provided technology and literacy skills to youth.
Panelists at book launch
When his memoirs “The Freetown Bond: A Life Under Two Flags” was published in 2012 and then launched at Fourah Bay College, I worked with Aunty Marjorie in Freetown, and Dr. Cyrus Macfoy, my brother Kwame Fitzjohn and others on this side to host a US Book Launch here in Maryland in the summer of 2014. We also showcased Cyrus’ new book on “Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine” in Sierra Leone. The positive response we got from the Sierra Leonean Diaspora, Africanists in the area, and others for this event was heart-warming. Although it was the usual overbooked DC area weekend, an audience of over 150 came to watch the author speak via Skype, listen to the guest panelists, and to purchase the signed copies of Uncle Eldred’s autobiography (with several book requests still coming in for several months following). Professors Sheikh Umarr Kamarah, Nemata Blyden, Mbye Cham, Abioseh Porter, and Dr. Modupe Broderick all played key roles at the event; Ambassador Bockari Stevens gave closing remarks. It was a grand afternoon.
Sadly however, this gargantuan autobiography endeavor had taken its toll; it was the only time I ever remember Aunty Marjorie expressing how tired she felt — to the core, she claimed; how this undertaking had worn her out, she remarked. She didn’t dwell on it – she just felt it. Before that, she had always been an unending ball of organized energy, even into her mid-80’s.
After Aunty Marjorie’s passing in 2015, Uncle Eldred was deeply affected by losing his partner of 60+ years, but as in all milestones and transitions in his life, he tried to take even this deepest grief in stride.
My mother considered Uncle Eldred a “brother”. When she passed away in 2018, in her memory, he composed a most beautiful poem in the style of the bard, and which we included in her Funeral program. When my mother’s first cousin, Uncle Arthur Porter, passed away in Canada, Uncle Eldred’s Tribute to his childhood friend and fellow academic colleague, was read at Uncle Arthur’s Funeral Service at Trinity Church, Freetown in January 2020.
Emeritus Professor Eldred Durosimi Jones touched so many lives for the good. Now, for him, there will be no more tomorrows! Yet, as I read through online the several tributes generously prepared in his memory since his passing on March 21, 2020 (and I expect more will come), I know we will not let this humble gentleman’s many and diverse accomplishments be left untold or forgotten. I am reminded of the oft-quoted Shakespearean lines: “the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones!” In Uncle Eldred’s case, I do believe the reverse will hold true. His GOOD will live on in our recognition of his many achievements and in the fond memories, which we will always hold dear.
Deepest condolences to Aunty Ethline and her family, Mimi, Jeannette Rose, Flavius and Didi, Aunty Cynthia, Emile and Gwen, Nemata, Zainab, Lucy and Ansu, Elizabeth, Gbesay, Aunty Bertha, Tani and Daphne, Claire, Minkailu (Minx), Sadie and Donald, and all the extended family and close friends.
Rest in Perfect Peace, dear Uncle. Join your beautiful soul mate in God’s kingdom!
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