Okeeffe Lewis - A bright light never to shine again

Anastasia Cunningham, Senior Gleaner Writer

It's the story of a resilient school determined to rise above its circumstances and stand tall in the midst of tragedy. And it does so with pride.

In-between the tears and heartache, Waterford High School has managed to reach the Manning Cup finals for the first time in its history, and could take the cup home on Saturday after facing many-time champions Jamaica College.

In fact, many agree that since their 2007 squad, which came close to winning the cup, this is their best team yet.

The tragic death of teammate, 17-year-old Okeeffe 'Bill' Lewis, has been a bitter pill for them to swallow. But it has ironically served to motivate his school and teammates to push themselves to the pinnacle. They are now determined more than ever to win the Manning Cup for their slain teammate and their school.

His death was especially hard because this was the second tragedy in less than a month that the school was forced to deal with. Sixteen-year-old Christian Diaz, who drowned in the Rio Cobre on October 31, was also a student of Waterford High.

Okeeffe was an exceptional footballer, student, friend and son. He had the uncanny ability to light up any room he walked into and never had an unkind word to say about anyone. His jovial, loving, witty, determined, motivating personality was a marvel to anyone who met him and made him best friend to everyone.

Motivational force

He was, in fact, the strongest motivational force in his school's bid for the elusive Manning Cup title. But on the morning of one of their crucial matches leading up to the finals, gunmen took the life of the youngster, and that of his stepfather, leaving a school and a community in shock.

His teammates recall that the night before the tragedy, Okeeffe told them that the match the next morning against St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) was very important.

"It could be our last training session. If we lose, we could drop out," he had said.

So he encouraged everyone to play well. He kept the stats on every game they played, and always reminded them of their strengths and encouraged them to overcome their weaknesses.

The team had just returned from a four-day training camp with coach Floyd Coke and was geared up to win their final matches to take home the cup.

His distraught mother, Marcia Petgrave, recalls his last words that night, hours before she lost her youngest child.

"Why Mr Coke neva keep we inna camp?" Okeeffe said to her.

Coke, who was also Okeeffe's best friend, recalled that the boys wanted camp to last until the Tuesday they would play against STATHS. But academics was also important to the coach, so he had to convince them that night that camp had to end.

The pride of Marcia's life then said to her, "Mama, pay di CXC fee. Mi have a future, yuh know, and a gwaan tek yuh outta here."

She beamed with pride on hearing that.

Some time after 10 p.m. before he finally went to sleep, Okeeffe said, with a smile, "Mama, me have to give them trouble at school. Mama, mi love dem."

He went to sleep for the last time.

Shortly before 1 a.m., gunmen attacked his home in Newland, Portmore, and set it ablaze. Okeeffe perished in the fire, while his stepfather, 50-year-old Leonard Hamilton, was shot to death trying to escape. His mother and the other family members escaped, and the house was burnt to the ground.

Marcia and her family have since been relocated and placed under police protection.

Shocking news

The news hit the school hard. His teammates recalled coming to school the next morning geared up for the match and being told they were wanted in the principal's office. Not knowing why, they went only to be shocked with the news that had some rolling on the ground in grief.

Principal Cecile Bernard, holding back the tears, tried to be strong for them. She was very concerned about how they would deal with it. Moments later, she asked if they wanted to call it quits, but they said no. They remembered what Okeeffe had told them the night befor.

"I was so worried," said Bernard. "They were so distraught that they couldn't eat. They put on such a brave face and went out there and won the match. Afterwards, they came back and just fell on the ground bawling. It was later that we finally got them to eat something."

Coke tries as best as he can to remain strong for the boys, but he has broken down in tears many times. Okeeffe had a special place in his heart. The coach discovered the youngster at Braeton Junior High two and a half years ago, when he heard about this exceptional young man who had won Best Goalkeeper award at the junior high level twice in a row.

So he brought Okeeffe to Waterford to nurture him.

"I remember putting him in our second practice match against a Major League team and I was amazed to see this 15-year-old defending his goal against those big men," said Coke. "In fact, he got his lip torn, but he was so brave he never stopped. He was determined to defend at all cost. We had to take him to the hospital later to get stitches."

Well-rounded player

Okeeffe, an average student in academics, was so well rounded in football, he fit in well in several positions on the team - as reserve goalkeeper, midfielder, and striker.

A lot of his teammates are still in denial.

"Maybe at the funeral we will accept it, but we still can't believe it all now," one said.

Another shared: "We still feel Bill's presence everywhere we go. When we are playing, practising, talking, we know Bill is right there with us."

"When we go out on the field on Saturday to take home that cup, we know Bill will be on the field playing with us," another added.

Everyone agrees that they don't think they will ever come to grips with this one.

The autopsy is scheduled for November 30. Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

Thirty-one-year-old Waterford High has been fighting against the odds with a strong emphasis on academics and sports, a beacon among the traditional high schools. In fact, on their winning football team, several boys hold high marks in various CXC subjects, with Derron Britton having seven. All are now pursuing four or more subjects at the highest level.

"We may not have the finances, strong support, be elite or have the tradition, but we have the spirit, drive, determination and we are a strong family," said Bernard. "Waterford is coming into its own. It's our time to shine."

anastasia.cunningham@gleanerjm.com