Eric Adolphus Llewellyn of Grenville, St. Andrew who resided in Montreal, Canada, passed away Sunday 13th November, 2016 at the age of 94.
December 5, 1921 - November 13, 2016
He is survived by his Brother: Francis Paul, Niece: Melissa Paul, Children and grandchildren: Ivan Llewellyn Sr., Erica Llewellyn Laptiste, Leon Llewellyn, Danielle Fortas, Denise Llewellyn, Ernest Llewellyn, Pamela Llewellyn, Mary Llewellyn, Ivan Llewellyn Jr., Petra Laptiste, Shawn Laptiste, Yamiley Abraham, Shane Laptiste, Ruth Burns, Eric Llewellyn, Raymond Llewellyn, Jonathan Llewellyn, Tiffany Llewellyn, Julia Llewellyn, Mila Abraham Laptiste, Ezra Abraham Laptiste, Idris Llewellyn and Samuel Burns Laptiste.
The Montreal Community and Grenada have lost a veritable Son of the Soil and ardent community supporter, teacher, artist, painter, author and family man. The Community and the Grenada Nationals Association of Montreal extend its sincerest condolences to the family of Mr. Llewellyn. He is now resting with his angels and has left a lasting legacy. Sleep in perfect peace Mr. Llewellyn as you have been reunited with your dearly departed wife, Vera Renaud.
The following is a recently edited biography prepared for him as he was being honoured by the Grenada Nationals Association of Montreal, Inc during its 50th anniversary celebrations on October 15, 2016.
Mr. Eric A. Llewellyn was born in Grenville, Grenada. He is a senior alumnus of Concordia University, Montreal, Canada where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Fine Arts. He was the first primary school teacher to teach art in Grenada. From 1949 until 1959, he also held many local exhibitions of his art and sculptures. For more than 50 years, he has been a teacher and held positions as a Head Master in Grenada and vice-principal at Westbury College in Montreal.
Mr. Llewellyn was a visual artist, illustrator and writer of folktales, and a dabbler in electronics, mechanics and chemistry. In the summer 1969, he operated a portrait shop at La Ronde, Man and his World and in the fall of the same year he opened a commercial art gallery on Sherbrooke Street next to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
He had always been a strong supporter of the Grenada Nationals Association. As a special commemoration of his 80th birthday, his family funded the Eric A. Llewellyn Bursary Award of $500 on October 6, 2001 at a banquet in his honour. Over the years, his artwork has been used as backdrops at the Association’s events.
For over 25 years, he had volunteered his time to developing arts and crafts projects for the seniors of the Cote-des-Neiges Black Community Association (CDNBCA) and had been an art advisor to many community groups. His work with the seniors at the CDNBCA set the stage for his book “A Journey into our Caribbean Past.” The book demonstrates the importance of memory and the ability to render these memories into visual terms. Without the luxury of photographs, Mr. Llewellyn’s illustrations provide us with a glimpse of our Caribbean heritage.
Mr. Llewellyn was grateful to each one of the participating senior members who told their stories and added to the richness and authenticity of this book. The CDNBCA launched the book on September 27, 2008.