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HomeNewsArchivesMANY PAY LAST RESPECTS TO MARIO DE CHABERT

MANY PAY LAST RESPECTS TO MARIO DE CHABERT

Sept. 22, 2001 — A "Who’s Who" of people in the territory — and then some — turned out Saturday for the funeral of one of St. Croix’s favorite sons, Mario de Chabert.
De Chabert died Monday on St. Croix after a long illness, at the age of 63. He wore many hats over the years, including those of businessman, attorney, entrepreneur, political player and prospective casino developer.
But at the funeral service at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Christiansted on Saturday, de Chabert also was remembered — by Sens. Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Adelbert Bryan, Delegate Donna Christian Christensen and businessman Jeffrey Prosser, among others — for the life experiences he loved, such as helping others, breaking bread with friends and jazz.
Christensen said de Chabert, an accomplished jazz musician, was at his best at the 1992 St. Croix Jazz Festival, an event he co-founded and produced.
"The Mario I knew was gentle and soft-spoken," she said, adding that he could also be "unyielding" in business.
De Chabert was the longest-serving member on the boards of V.I. Community Bank and Innovative Telephone, said Prosser, who owns both enterprises.
"By the number of people here today, Mario touched a lot of people," Prosser said, noting the overflow crowd that sat under tents set up with video monitors to watch the proceedings inside the church.
"If Mario couldn’t open a door for you, he knew someone that could," Prosser said.
Just prior to his death, de Chabert had been in the process of applying for a casino gaming license to develop a 193-room casino-resort on property adjacent to the Sunny Isle Shopping Center, a family-owned operation managed by de Chabert.
Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II noted that de Chabert gave him the casino bill that first surfaced in the 20th Legislature and later was introduced in the 21st.
"We have lost a son, we have lost a businessman, philanthropist and attorney — and St. Croix's biggest activist," James said in a message to the de Chabert family.
Bryan said of de Chabert: "He had his heart, his soul and his will in the people of the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean."

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