Friends,
It is never easy to say goodbye. But today is especially hard.
Because today, we do not simply mourn the passing of a statesman. We mourn the loss of a good man.
The Right Honourable J. Henry Bostwick, O.B., was many things a brilliant lawyer, a steady hand in politics, a trusted voice in Parliament. But to truly understand his impact, we must start with something far more simple, yet far more powerful: his decency.
He carried himself with quiet dignity never needing to shout, never needing to impress. He believed that respect was something you earned by how you lived, not something you demanded by the titles you held.
And over the course of his long and remarkable life, he earned that respect a thousand times over.
Mr. Bostwick was born into a Bahamas that was still in the process of discovering itself. He came of age in a generation that laid the foundation on which we all now stand. And in every role he held whether in law, in politics, or in civil society he did so not to advance himself, but to serve the greater good.
Educated at the University of Exeter in England, he returned home with a world-class legal education but, more importantly, with a heart still rooted in the soil of this land. He believed in The Bahamas. He believed in our people. And he believed that the law should be a shield for the vulnerable, not a weapon for the powerful.
As a barrister and partner at Bostwick and Bostwick, he set a standard. As President of the Bahamas Bar Association, he raised it even further. And when he was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1994, the legal profession and the nation simply acknowledged what it had long known: that Henry Bostwick stood among the very best.
But he was never content to work in the comfort of private success while the country struggled to find its way. He stepped into public life with purpose.
He served in the Senate. He led the Opposition. He founded a political party out of conviction, not convenience, because he believed that ideas mattered more than affiliations. And when he returned to the Senate in 1992 as its President, he presided not just over debate, but over tone, over standards, over integrity.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say this: Mr. Bostwick didn’t just occupy public office. He honoured it.
And that is no small thing.
Too often in our modern politics, we mistake volume for strength. We confuse cleverness with wisdom. But Henry Bostwick showed us another way. He showed us that you could be strong without being harsh. That you could be principled without being arrogant. That you could disagree without being disagreeable.
He was, in every sense, a gentleman. A statesman. A Bahamian of the highest order.
And yet for all his titles, for all his accomplishments, it was the way he carried himself that stays with us most.
He didn’t have to dominate a room to be heard. He didn’t need to win every argument to prove his worth. When he spoke, you listened – not because he demanded it, but because you knew he’d thought about what he was saying.
He led with his mind, yes. But also with his heart.
He believed in fairness. He believed in duty. And he believed in helping young people find their path.
There are many among us, myself included, who benefited from his counsel. His door was always open. His advice was always measured. And even when he disagreed with you, he never made you feel small.
That was Henry Bostwick.
And it was fitting, so very fitting, that in 2020, he was awarded the Companion of the Order of The Bahamas. With that, he was entitled to be styled the Right Honourable J. Henry Bostwick, O.B.
But those of us who knew him, and those who learned from him, already knew there was something honourable about him long before any official designation made it so.
To his beloved wife, the Honourable Janet Bostwick, herself a trailblazer in the life of this nation, we say thank you. Thank you for sharing him with us. Thank you for walking alongside him in a shared purpose to serve The Bahamas.
To their children, who carry forward his legacy, you carry a name that stands for more than a man. It stands for principle. For service. For honour. That is the inheritance he leaves behind, and it is a rich one.
When we lose someone like Mr. Bostwick, it is tempting to speak only in the past tense. But I believe his example still speaks to us, especially now, especially in this moment.
In a world that often feels uncertain…
In a region where leadership is being tested…
In a country still striving toward its highest ideals…
Henry Bostwick reminds us that there is still room and still a need for the kind of leadership rooted in values, not vanity.
He reminds us that strength is not in how loudly you speak, but in how clearly you think.
That real leadership is not about being liked, it’s about being trusted.
And that a life of public service, done with humility, can leave behind a legacy far greater than fame.
He was not flashy. He was not loud. But he was faithful. Faithful to his calling, faithful to this nation, faithful to the ideals that shape our democracy.
And so, as we lay him to rest, we do so with gratitude.
Gratitude for the work he did.
Gratitude for the example he set.
Gratitude for the way he made us all a little better.
Henry Bostwick may no longer walk among us. But in every courtroom where a young lawyer argues with integrity…
In every parliamentary chamber where a leader chooses principle over partisanship…
In every act of service done not for applause, but for country…
His spirit endures.
And that is perhaps the most powerful tribute of all. That in this land he loved so deeply, his life’s work will outlive him.
“May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the Holy City Jerusalem. May Choirs of angels receive you and with Lazarus, once a poor man, may you, John Henry Bostwick, have eternal rest.”
On behalf of my wife Ann-Marie and I; my cabinet and parliamentary colleagues, and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, I express heartfelt condolences to the Hon. Janet Bostwick, his children and his grandchildren on the passing of this great man.
Thank you.
