‘I’ve got mom now’

A promise from Usain Bolt as hundreds attend his dad’s funeral

FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Legendary sprinter Usain Bolt on Sunday promised his father, Wellesley “Gideon” Bolt, whose thanksgiving service was being held at Falmouth Seventh-day Adventist Church here, that he’ll be the pillar of strength for his widow Jennifer from now on, as hundreds of mourners and well-wishers from all walks of life paid their final respects to the Bolt patriarch.

“I just want to say to my mommy, ‘Mom, I’m here for you fully. I’m now your husband and your child, so just know the support is here. You’re gonna get tired of me now because I’m gonna be a lot more in your life.

Thanks, everybody, for the prayers, and the love, and the well wishes and everything,” said Usain. “I’m happy to see a big turnout. And thanks for all the ministers for coming and supporting. I feel the love and I really appreciate it.”

“I just want to say, ‘Pops, don’t worry — I have Mommy now,’ so thank you very much,” he said

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness was among those gathered, and he assured the eight-time Olympic gold medallist that “the entire nation mourns with you”.

“The entire nation embraces the family and surrounds you with prayers at this difficult time,” Holness said.

The prime minister managed to elicit a smile from the at-times stone-faced Olympian, retelling what Usain said about his father during an interview.

“I immediately looked up some of the things you said about your father, and in an interview you said that, ‘My father didn’t speak much but when he spoke, we listened,’ and I believe that summed up the character of the man. See, I got Usain to smile.

“But Usain also said that, ‘Whatever I am today, it was because of my parents.’ He gave credit to his parents. It is not easy to be a world champion, and I’m certain that it would have taken Usain’s village to raise him to become this world champion, but it all started in the home,” the prime minister emphasised.

Surrounded by a sea of light-blue-clad family members in a reserved section of the church, a teary-eyed Usain sat huddled beside his grief-stricken mother, the two leaning on each other for strength in the front pew of the jam-packed church during the thanksgiving service.

At one point the distressed but caring mother could be seen wiping beads of sweat from her legendary son’s face.

On another occasion, one of the sprint icon’s sons played with his father, pulling his attention away from the solemn situation.

Sports Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange described the elder Bolt as a passionate father who was invested in his family. She underlined that Wellesley and his wife Jennifer were Usain’s “chief motivators, chief cheerleaders, source of support, and stability”.

“Every success, ladies and gentlemen, that Usain has achieved can be attributed to the confidence given to him by his ever-supportive mother and father. I know he’s missing his father and will miss him for a very long time but I know he’s a big man, he has big shoulders, and he’s going to make sure he’s there for his mother and the rest of the family, and also his family,” she said.

Offering her sincerest condolence to his family, Grange said: “It is going to be a difficult time…but I encourage you to be comforted by the memory of an incredibly good father. Rest well, Gideon. As a community man and father you’ve run your race, and you, too, earned gold.”

Usain was also supported by a cast of sports celebrities, including Ricardo “Bibi” Gardner, Ian “Pepe” Goodison, Nesta Carter, and Coach Glen Mills.

Members of the Sherwood Content community, where Wellesley resided for decades after leaving his native St Ann parish, also flooded the church, with mourners overflowing from the church and into a large tent on the grounds and out onto Duke Street.

Among the mourners were also former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, Member of Parliament for Trelawny Northern Tova Hamilton, and the People’s National Party’s aspirant candidate in the constituency Dr Wykeham McNeill.

Meanwhile, Wellesley was eulogised as a loving, caring, punctual, hard-working, principled, and benevolent individual.

In fact, during the tributes, one family member recounted that the shop he operated in Sherwood Content had to be dubbed the charity shop because of his inability to turn his back on customers who were unable to pay.

Usain concurred, adding that it is a trait he inherited from his parents.

“He was a very giving person. As we’re talking about the shop, that shop cost me a lot of money. As we said earlier, all he did was give, no matter what or who. Anybody from Sherwood Content could tell you that they could always go to him and say, ‘Mr Bolt, I’ll pay you tomorrow.’ He was always a giving person, and [that’s] something that I grew up with. I remember, throughout the years, my mom and dad would always say to me, ‘Usain, you can’t give away all of your money,’ and I was like, ‘What you want me to do? That’s what you taught me to do — to always give, and to support, and to help,’” he quipped.

“When it comes to respect, anybody who knows me knows I’m very respectful, and I give that up to my mom and dad. They always made sure I’m focused, all the time. And… even the same shop, no one could go in there and behave bad, no matter how old you were. We would say, ‘Listen, get out the shop and stand outside. You have no respect. You can’t come in here.’ ” he added.

Members of the Waldensia Primary and Infant School in Sherwood Content also recounted Wellesley’s kindness.

He was also remembered as a spiritual individual by a Sherwood Content Seventh-day Adventist Church member. He recounted that, over a period of time, the senior Bolt would drop his wife off at church on the Sabbath and leave, but after much persuasion he, too, joined the flock.

“I remember he would always be giving me a smile. He was always kind and humble,” the church brother reflected.

Members of the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica also paid tribute to Wellesley, their former colleague.

The elder Bolt, who passed on March 31, often featured in the stands alongside his wife Jennifer as they supported their son Usain during his rise to global stardom.

He ran a shop in Sherwood Content for 15 years, up to 2017. Prior to that, he worked at the coffee board for 16 years.

His body was interred at the cemetery in Reserve, adjoining Sherwood Content.