The sharp report of a 21-gun salute and the stirring notes of Taps capped the emotion-filled celebration of Judge Almeric Leander Christian’s 80 years of life on Wednesday.
Hundreds of people from throughout the Virgin Islands gathered at St. John’s Anglican Church in Christiansted to view Christian’s body one last time and to remember a man who was "simply amazing."
Malcolm Plaskett, a friend of the Christian family, spoke about how the judge’s high standards rubbed off on the people he met.
"He understood it wasn’t difficult to do the right thing and encouraged others," Plaskett said.
District Court Chief Judge Raymond Finch recited some of the traits now being used to describe the judge: "taskmaster," "no-nonsense judge," "stern" and "kind."
"I will add my own: Intimidating," Finch said. "That’s the only way you can describe what he did to me."
"Rest in peace, Chief," Finch said in farewell.
Despite Christian’s outward appearance of a stern jurist, however, he was quite different privately, according to Plaskett. "Quiet as it was kept, he was the life of the party," Plaskett said.
Marc Biggs said Christian was a founding member of The Gentlemen of Jones, a community service group. Biggs, commissioner of Property and Procurement, said Christian "never lost the common touch."
Among the others in attendance at the services were Gov. Charles Turnbull; former Gov. Alexander Farrelly and his wife, Joan; Territorial Court Judges Ive Swan, Edgar Ross, Maria Cabret, Ishmael Meyers, Patricia Steele, Brenda Hollar and Soraya Diaz; former Territorial Court Judge Henry Feuerzeig and his wife, Penny; U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Moore; U.S. Magistrate Judges Jeffrey Resnick and Geoffrey Barnard and Barnard's wife, Ann; U.S. Attorney James Hurd; V.I. National Guard Adjutant General Gene Romney; former Delegate to Congress Ron DeLugo; University of the Virgin Islands President Orville Kean; former Attorney General Julio Brady; and several V.I. senators and cabinet members.
Both American Eagle and Seaborne Seaplanes put on extra flights to accommodate the large number of persons traveling from St. Thomas to attend the services.
Retired Episcopal Dean Thomas Gibbs, a Christian family friend, said that since the judge’s death, much has been said about the man — much of it true.
"We had among us a towering giant," he said. "We had with us a person who cast the mold of judges. Yet he was a person who could walk with humility among us."
In his letter of condolence to the Christian family, Hurd said the former District Court chief judge never played favorites in the courtroom.
"The fact that he was a former United States attorney did not cause Judge Christian to treat prosecutors with any special favor," Hurd said. "He sometimes chastised us privately, and sometimes he chastised us publicly. However, his was a fatherly type of chastening. We learned and grew from our experiences with him."
When Hurd tried cases in Christian’s court, he said, he was always amazed at the judge’s grasp of complicated legal issues and his photographic memory.
"Judge Christian could, for example, recite word for word portions of a witness’s testimony without the assistance of the court reporter," Hurd said. "He was, in two words, simply amazing."

The sharp report of a 21-gun salute and the stirring notes of Taps capped the emotion-filled celebration on Wednesday of Judge Almeric Leander Christian’s 80 years of life.
Hundreds of people from throughout the Virgin Islands gathered at St. John’s Anglican Church in Christiansted to view Christian’s body one last time and to remember a man who was "simply amazing."
Malcolm Plaskett, a friend of the Christian family, spoke about how the judge’s high standards rubbed off on the people he met.
"He understood it wasn’t difficult to do the right thing and encouraged others," Plaskett said.
District Court Chief Judge Raymond Finch recited some of the traits now being used to describe the judge: "task master," "no-nonsense judge," "stern" and "kind."
Finch continued, "I will add my own: Intimidating. That’s the only way you can describe what he did to me."
"Rest in peace, Chief," Finch said in farewell.
Despite Christian’s outward appearance of the stern jurist, however, he was quite different in private life, according to Plaskett.
"Quiet as it was kept, he was the life of the party," Plaskett said.
Christian was a founding member of the Gentlemen of Jones, a community service group, Property and Procurement Commissioner Marc Biggs noted. He said the judge "never lost the common touch."
Among the others in attendance at the services were Gov. Charles Turnbull; former Gov. Alexander Farrelly and his wife, Joan; Territorial Court Judges Ive Swan, Edgar Ross, Maria Cabret, Ishmael Meyers, Patricia Steele, Brenda Hollar and Soraya Diaz; former Territorial Court Judge Henry Feuerzeig and his wife, Penny; District Court Judge Thomas Moore; U.S. Magistrate Judges Jeffrey Resnick and Geoffrey Barnard and Barnard's wife, Ann; U.S. Attorney James Hurd; V.I. National Guard Adj. Gen. Gene Romney; former Delegate to Congress Ron de Lugo; University of the Virgin Islands President Orville Kean; former Attorney General Julio Brady; and several V.I. senators and Cabinet members.
Both American Eagle and Seaborne Seaplanes put on extra flights to accommodate the large number of persons traveling from St. Thomas to attend the services.
Retired Episcopal Dean Thomas Gibbs, a friend of the Christian family, said that since the judge’s death, much has been said about the man, and much of it is true.
"We had among us a towering giant," he said. "We had with us a person who cast the mold of judges. Yet, he was a person who could walk with humility among us."
In a letter of condolence to the Christian family, Hurd said the former chief District Court judge never played favorites in the courtroom.
"The fact that he was a former United States attorney did not cause Judge Christian to treat prosecutors with any special favor," Hurd recalled. "He sometimes chastised us privately, and sometimes he chastised us publicly. However, his was a fatherly type of chastening. We learned and grew from our experiences with him."
When Hurd tried cases in Christian’s court, he said, he never ceased to be amazed by the judge’s grasp of complex legal issues and his photographic memory.
"Judge Christian could, for example, recite word for word portions of a witness’s testimony without the assistance of the court reporter," he recalled. "He was, in two words, simply amazing."

The St. Croix Foundation for Community Development, which recently launched its own web site and online newsletter, received congratulations on the move Wednesday from Delegate Donna M. Christian-Christensen.
The new web site and the newsletter, The Vanguard, are supported by the onepaper platform, where The Source newspapers also are found. The not-for-profit agency's web site is www.onepaper.com/stcroixfoundation.
The foundation was recently designated as the site of the first Women's Business Center in the territory, one of about 70 in the nation. It will use its web presence to increase its visibility and to inform residents of its expanding role in the community, according to executive director Roger Dewey.
Christensen commended the foundation, begun in 1991 by the late St. Croix insurance executive Philip Gerard, for its growing outreach. The agency, which made headlines recently when it purchased a number of derelict Times Square properties with plans to restore them, has had "a tremendous impact on St. Croix and is now in a position to benefit all Virgin Islanders," she said.
"Having worked with this organization on many issues," the delegate said, "I am very pleased to welcome them as our newest on-line resource and am happy to provide my congressional web site (www.house.gov/christian-christensen) as a link."

A foul smell coming from a room in the Comanche Hotel in Christiansted lead police to the decomposing body of the establishment’s chef on Tuesday.
According to Acting Police Chief Novelle Francis a maid detected a "stench" coming from a room at the hotel at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Francis said that hotel management conducted a cursory search of the room and found a fluid, which appeared to be blood, on the floor.
At that point, hotel management contacted police, Francis said. Police then found the decomposing body of Brad Curl, 41, who was a chef at the Club Comanche.
Francis said Curl was last seen on Saturday, Sept. 4. There was no indication of foul play at the scene but an autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday. Francis said an investigation into the incident is continuing.

In a release from the Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department, business owners and operators are reminded that they are required to update their price lists on a monthly basis if they change any pricing for goods or services locally during the hurricane season.
Price lists were required to have been submitted to LCA as of June 1, the start of hurricane season, and monthly updates reflecting any changes are required through the end of November. The procedure was instituted to enable the department to determine instances of price gouging in the event of a hurricane causing major damage in the territory.
Any business owner or operator with questions about the procedure should call Margaret Sumter at 773-2226.

In a release from the Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department, business owners and operators are reminded that they are required to update their price lists on a monthly basis if they change any pricing for goods or services locally during the hurricane season.
Price lists were required to have been submitted to LCA as of June 1, the start of hurricane season, and monthly updates reflecting any changes are required through the end of November. The procedure was instituted to enable the department to determine instances of price gouging in the event of a hurricane causing major damage in the territory.
Any business owner or operator with questions about the procedure should call Margaret Sumter at 773-2226.

If you were a volunteer at Sinbad's Soul Music Festival, the Tourism Department and the U.S. Postal Service have a thank-you gift for you: a commemorative cancellation stamp with the soul fest as its theme.
The Postal Service created the cancellation stamp in honor of the territory's hosting of the festival last May, Tourism Commissioner-designate Michael Bornn said, and his department is presenting one to each of the volunteers "in appreciation of their participation."
A number of the special stamps have already been sent out, but Tourism doesn't have a mailing address for some volunteers.
Those who have not received their cancellation stamps by mail or courier can stop by the Tourism Visitors Bureau alongside Emancipation Garden to pick them up any weekday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. They should be prepared to show identification, a Tourism release said.

Ambiance: ****
Food: ****
Service: ****
Value: *****
Latitude 18 / Vessup Bay / $ / 779-2495
To get to Latitude 18, one must trust one's instincts and persevere. Turn off the Red Hook Road by the National Park Service dock entrance and go up the road leading to Cowpet Bay, Elysian and the Ritz Carlton. Turn down the first road on your left, Vessup Lane, by the Montessori School. Follow it to the condominiums (where the estate road makes a right turn) and pass the condo parking lot, bearing right on the rocky dirt road, and head all the way down to the water.
Got that? Well, it is at the southeast corner of Red Hook. Wing it!
This is one of those spots so dear to the locals' collective heart that we really do not want to talk about them for fear of losing the precious something that makes them so special.
The look of Latitude 18 is leftover furniture from Marilyn with some oilcloth on the good tables. There's seating for about 30 between the bar/ kitchen and the water, with good air and all the charm of the working Vessup Bay harbor. The bar has some 10 stools and an assortment of congenial boaties in one stage or another of quiet inebriation. Everyone is grooving on his/her own thing, with the water and sympathetic conviviality providing the common thread.
Given the ambiance, one has every right to be a bit startled at the range of the menu. This is not the boaters' answer to the truck stop or greasy spoon. While you may, indeed, order mashed potatoes smothered in gravy, the potatoes are most flavorful and the gravy is something special.
I dug into the lamb shanks. Two meaty shanks well lubricated with a succulent gravy. Yum! One could taste the butter in the potatoes, and the chunks indicated these were the real thing, not some flakes from a box. The seasoning in the mixed vegetables set off their flavor and complemented the lamb.
The drinks are served in the bottle or in plastic, but the price is right and the servings are most adequate. Looking for a gourmet experience, you won't find it here. But for an interesting location with the view we come here for, complemented with generous drinks and top-quality food at a most affordable price, this is the place.
P.S. — Latitude 18 is a participant in the Rotary East Dining Out program. If you don't already have the 1999 coupon book, you can get one from any club member or at the Color of Joy in American Yacht Harbor. The more than two dozen coupons allow for a free second entrée, drink, dessert or other special savings at good and better restaurants on St. Thomas and St. John through Dec. 15. One entrée alone can save you the $15 purchase price, which goes into the club's scholarship fund for Eudora Kean High School graduates. (See St. Thomas Source/ Community/ Organizations)
The Tottering Taster is a senior citizen who is dedicated to enjoying good food and dines in one St. Thomas restaurant each week to bring you a totally unsolicited assessment biased in favor of an ultimate experience. We’re using a pseudonym so restaurant personnel won't recognize the reviewer and perhaps try to influence the review.

If your company is interested in workplace CPR or first-aid training on site, classes may be scheduled there.
September classes are held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the community every Saturday at the offices in Nisky Center.
For more information or to register call 774-0375.