Moleto Turnbull, left, and Thomas C. Famous, right. Photo: Provided

Luckily for them, they had two older brothers to guide, protect, and, when needed, scold and mould them.

My two eldest uncles, Uncle Mike and Uncle Lynn were ever the overprotective brothers.

When our Mamie had to got to St Thomas in order to find work, Uncle Mike being the elder, had to take on the roles of father, cook, and when need be, the enforcer.

As the man of the house, he had to ensure that his sisters had breakfast, went off to school, came straight home, had supper and then went to bed.

All of this while juggling his duties of tending to livestock early in the morning and getting his own education.

He did this everyday until he went off to technical school in Puerto Rico to learn the construction trade.

Northward bound

In his absence, my Uncle Lynn became the de facto man of the house, albeit using; wit, humour and delegation of duties versus the enforcer methodologies.

Coupled with the high expectations of both brothers, my mother and her siblings eventually migrated from the Virgin Islands to New York City in the late 1950s to pursue high school and then university qualifications.

In New York, during the early 1960s, my Uncle Lynn took it upon himself to play matchmaker and introduce one of his sisters to one of his classmates in architecture school. 

A few years later, this man from Bermuda married this young lady from Tortola

Hence I am told that I am the net result of My Uncle Lynn's delegation powers. 

Building blocks

My Uncle Mike chose to remain in the Virgin Islands, becoming a master mason and then a master contractor, building houses, apartment complexes, and commercial buildings in both the British and US Virgin Islands.

More importantly, he was a devout husband and family man who raised five children

In my younger years, I was told on a near-daily basis, that while Uncle Lynn will always be the matchmaker, I was the physical spitting image of my Uncle Mike. More often than not, this reminder came in conjunction with the mobilization of the wooden spoon.

Seemingly, along the way, my mother claims that I also inherited my Uncle Mike's enforcer type ways.

In retrospect, his strict no-nonsense ways became the cornerstone of our family.

Everyone of my aunts and uncles became successful professionals who, in turn, raised another generation of successful professionals.

Without a doubt, we owe much of our success to both of my uncles.

Our family's story is the story of every family in the Virgin Islands. Unfortunately, most of our parents and grandparents had to leave VI in order to make a better life for themselves.

For every belonger still at home, there are at least four or five belongers, living and working outside of the VI.

It is time for us to make our way back home.

Precious time

In life, we should seize every opportunity to reach out to those who have laid the foundation for us. Whether it be a visit or a phone call, it will mean much to those who have sacrificed to pave the way for us.

For our family, we were indeed blessed to have  Moleto Turnbull aka 'Mike', the patriarch of the Fraser, Thomas and Turnbull clan of the Virgin Islands, with us for nearly 90 years.

This weekend in the Virgin Islands, the very same family that he raised with his hands and heart, will honour him with love and tributes. More importantly, we will honour him by continuing his legacy of laying a firm foundation for the next generation.

Even if we have to be enforcers now and then.