Saint Lucia’s legal, professional and cultural communities are mourning the deaths of two men whose contributions left a lasting mark on the island’s Carnival landscape.
Attorney-at-law and Xuvo Carnival Band director Jahn Sifflet died on Sunday, September 20, just one day after the passing of longtime Carnival stalwart and Saint Lucia Distillers employee Pontius Clery.
The losses prompted an outpouring of tributes, with Carnival Saint Lucia declaring that the “Xuvo Family and Carnival Fraternity has lost a King” following Sifflet’s death, while remembering Clery as a “beloved pillar of our Carnival family.”
Sifflet, a member of a family with longstanding ties to Saint Lucia Carnival, served as one of the directors of Xuvo Carnival Band and Events, with responsibility for the band’s operations on the road.
Carnival Saint Lucia said the Sifflet family had played an instrumental role in shaping Lucian Carnival over the years and described Jahn as carrying that legacy into his work with Xuvo, saying his passion, spirit and love for the culture had left “an indelible mark” on the community.
His death has also been deeply felt within Saint Lucia’s legal profession.
President of the Saint Lucia Bar Association Ramon Raveneau extended the organisation’s “deepest possible sympathies and condolences” to Sifflet’s family, remembering him as a talented attorney, team player and “a joy to work with.”
Raveneau said Sifflet possessed a remarkably warm and jovial temperament that allowed him to maintain positive relationships even in the often-contentious environment of legal proceedings.
That personality followed him into the courtroom, where, according to Raveneau, Sifflet could argue serious points of law while making the entire court laugh through the way he presented his arguments and represented his clients.
Describing him as “a man of many talents,” Raveneau said Sifflet was truly loved and would be deeply missed.
The Bar Association is expected to consider how best to commemorate his contribution to the profession, with Raveneau saying members would determine how to “honour him, remember him” and begin healing from his loss.
Clery’s death a day earlier had already plunged the Carnival community and his colleagues at Saint Lucia Distillers into mourning.
Carnival Saint Lucia remembered him as a “beloved pillar” whose involvement in the festival stretched across decades.
A former Mas man and senior road marshal, Clery had been involved in costume creation and design from his teenage years and remained active in Carnival until his death.
Carnival Saint Lucia said he had dedicated “endless passion, energy, and heart” to Lucian Carnival and declared that his legacy, both on and off the road, would not be forgotten.
That same commitment characterised Clery’s professional life at Saint Lucia Distillers, where he worked for 18 years.
Marketing Manager Sergin David described him as a “true professional” for whom no task was too much, but said his concern for people was among the qualities that made him particularly special.
Remembering Clery as “a really great soul,” David said he was fun and friendly and consistently looked beyond the demands of the job to consider how he could help the people around him.
For David, who worked alongside Clery for 12 years and came to regard him as both a close friend and brother, his death could be summed up in three words: “a great loss.”
