“I wish I had one last moment with him to say goodbye, to say ‘I love you’ and to say ‘thank you’.”
These were the words of Raymond Charles Mohammed Jr shortly after his late father, the former Department of Mineral Resources Mines manager, was laid to rest in Navua yesterday.
Raymond Jr said education was always at the forefront of his upbringing and as a child, his father, who he is named after, “constantly told us to read”.
“We now understand his aim was to see us succeed,” Jr said.
Mr Mohammed died at the age of 45 at his Vakabalea home last week and joining the sea of mourners was a delegation from the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources led by Minister Filimoni Vosarogo.
Speaking on behalf of Government, permanent secretary Dr Raijeli Taga hailed “Ray” as a beacon of light within the ministry’s ranks.
“Ray has been my standard. I measure myself against him,” she said.
“Raymond’s absence leaves a void that feels immeasurable, it is a testament to the enormity of his presence in our lives.”
Mr Mohammed served the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources for 15 years.
