Obituary of Noel Gonsalves

Noel O. Gonsalves was born in Georgetown, Guyana on December 24, 1934 to Orlando Gonsalves and Rose Castanheiro. He had one sister, Mary Bernadette and two brothers, Edward - known as Eddie - and Nicholas. He started school at Main Street RC School and ended at St. Stanislaus College. He began working at JP Santos in the early 1950's in the office and worked his way up to the accounting department. Noel became the General Manager at JP Santos in the late 1960's. Noel moved on to working within the government of Guyana. He started his career in the government as the Chairman of GUYSTAC and was also a recipient of Guyana's Arrow of Achievement Award. Noel became the President of the Jaycees of Georgetown in 1966 and shortly afterwards he became the first President of the Jaycees of Guyana. In 1969, he was a Vice President of the West Indies Jaycees. The following year, Noel was awarded Jaycee of the Year for the West Indies, which is considered a prestigious award. From 1973-1977, Noel was the President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce. Noel accepted a job offer from a Miami based export company which applied for a visa for him in 1980. The visa was approved in 1983 and Noel arrived in Miami, Florida and moved to Pembroke Pines. He began working immediately with his sponsor, Abo ovo Distributors as the manager. Noel started Plus Distributors, Inc., his import/export business in 1984. Through his life, Noel had two children: Deborah and Jason. Later on, he had two grandchildren: Marissa and Allysha. Noel was nothing less than a perfectionist. He was always punctual and expected the same of those around him. He was extraordinarily detailed, highly organized and was known to be someone on which you could count. Noel was a beloved father, grandfather, brother and uncle. He was an amazing friend, a trusted businessman and dedicated to his work at all times. He was a kind and generous soul who was always there for those that needed him. In his career and in his life, Noel acted with passion, integrity and energy. People who knew Noel will miss a highly intelligent, devoted individual with a rare charm of personality. Noel was a genuinely compassionate and an incredible individual - one that will be missed greatly. Our grief is lessened only slightly with the comforting thought that we had the privilege to know him.