By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Sept. 19, 2016: Many Caribbean Americans took to social media last night to express condolences to the family of former Grenada Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Lamuel Stanislaus, who passed away Sunday in New York city. He was 95.
Dr. Stanislaus, who was also a dentist by profession, reportedly died in Brooklyn at a hospice Sunday morning after an illness.
He served as Grenada’s ambassador at the UN twice. He was Grenada’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Representative at the United Nations from 1985-1990 and again from 1998-2004. Between these two appointments he served as Ambassador-at–Large and Deputy Permanent Representative for two years.
He became known there as a seasoned, substantive and eloquent voice on behalf of his country, and on occasions when he was delegated to speak on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean countries (GRULAC).
He also served for a year as a Vice-President of the UN General Assembly, during which he was appointed to act for a month in the absence of the President, receiving highest commendation for the conduct of the business of the General Assembly for that month. Another highlight of Dr. Stanislaus’ tenure was the persuasive statement made before the Decolonization Committee which resulted in the invitation to the then Chief Minister of Montserrat to come to the UN to plead his case for additional help for his volcanic ravaged island. His legacy to his country, however, and to eleven other small Commonwealth countries at the United Nations is what is known as the Small States Joint Office at the UN, where the larger Commonwealth States have given well appointed shared offices to smaller Commonwealth States, rent free for the past twenty-five years and counting.
In commenting on the pioneering effort and the persuasive skills of the Ambassador from Grenada, which made the Joint Office possible, The New York Times recently referred to this unique arrangement as “The United States of Tiny.”
Dr. Stanislaus was born in Petite Martinique, Grenada, he was educated at Grenada Boys’ Secondary School (1933-1938) and immigrated to the United States in 1945 to attend Howard University in Washington. He majored in chemistry and physics as an undergrad and went to Howard Dental School and graduated with a BS (summa cum laude) in 1948, and the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) in 1953. After graduation, he took a job doing pediatric dentistry in Newark, N.Y., in upstate Wayne County and was engaged in the private practice of Dentistry in New York City for 32 years before going to the UN.
“A giant statesman,” is how some described him on Facebook while others called him an “icon” and “a champion of many causes.” He was one of the architects of the West Indian Labor Day Parade and was good friends with founders Carlos Lezama and Rufus Gorin and with many of the city’s politicians at that time, including late Rep. Shirley Chisholm and, Congressman Charles Rangel, late former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton and late former Gov. Mario Cuomo.
He was also the recipient of numerous professional, civic and political awards, including the Insignia of Commander of the British Empire from her Majesty the Queen of England, (CBE), The Lifetime Achievement Award from the District Attorney of Brooklyn, Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from St. George’s University and the Distinguished Service award from Brooklyn Historical Society.
Stanislaus is survived by five children – Lamuel, Galen, Karen, Eugene and John and seven grandchildren.
FUNERAL
A mass and viewing for Dr. Stanislaus will be held on Saturday Sept. 24, 2016 at the St. Francis of Assisi/St. Blaise Church on Nostrand Ave. between Lincoln Road & Maple St. in Brooklyn, NY. The viewing will be from 10:30 am to 11:30 a.m. The mass will be from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. He will be laid to rest at Canarsie Cemetery, 1370 Remsen Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11236. A repass will follow at: EL Caribe, 5945 Strickland Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11234.
