Dr. Beverley Steele, a former resident tutor at the UWI Extra-Mural Department and School of Continuing Studies, passed away on Monday, and her death has being mourned by the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus.
Steele spent 32 years working with UWI in Grenada, beginning in 1973 and ending in 2005.
According to a press release from UWI today, Steele provided great service to the organization and was instrumental in securing funding from the Inter-American Foundation for the building of the 1982-opened Marryshow Folk Theatre.
According to the article, the opening of the creative arts center, affectionately known as Marryshow House in honor of its legendary former owner, TA Marryshow, significantly increased the university’s outreach efforts in Grenada.
The venue served as a hub for meetings, lectures, panel discussions, seminars, and theatrical performances.
According to the press release, Steele’s leadership transformed Marryshow House into “a hive of productivity,” as documented in the book Breaking Down the Walls: An Evolution of the Extra-Mural Department, The University of the West Indies 1947-2000.
Author of Grenada: A History of Its People and Grenada In War Time: The Tragic Loss of the Island Queen and Other Memories of World War II, Steele is a historian and educator. Because it gives common Grenadians a way to read their history simply and is well-respected by the scholarly community, her book Grenada: A History of its People is widely regarded by Grenadians both at home and in the Diaspora.
According to the press announcement, Steele claims that the book was written with the intention of giving average Grenadians access to their history. According to the press release, part of the reason for her strong dedication to the creative arts in all of their forms is her belief that “without them, we run the risk of generating graduates who are rigid and citizens who lack social consciousness.”
According to the UWI, Steele was deeply concerned with national and regional pride and made a lot of efforts to teach Grenadians the value of honoring and respecting the heroes who helped create the country because, in her opinion, this is the only way any population can mature to its full potential.
According to the press release, Steeler resurrected Theophilus Albert Marryshow’s memory, which had previously seemed to have been lost. In the Truly Discover Grenada Magazine, she also promoted “heroes” like Pansy Rowley, Betty Mascoll, Buzz Butler, and others (excerpts from citation written by Dr Francis O. Severin, 2010).
