Jamaica bids farewell to former Court of Appeal president Ian Xavier Forte at Stella Maris service

Jamaica paid final respects to the Hon. Justice (Ret'd) Ian Xavier Forte, OJ, CD, KC, at an official thanksgiving and funeral service at Stella Maris Church, where colleagues, politicians, church members, and relatives celebrated a life spent largely in public law and quiet service.

Justice Forte, affectionately known as Billy, died in the early hours of Friday, 5 June 2026. He was born on 15 November 1936 to Dorothia Willilamina and George William Fort, the youngest of four children. Educated at St. Aloysius Primary and St. George's College, he later read law at Lincoln's Inn in London before returning home to build one of the country's most distinguished judicial careers.

His appointments spanned the colonial and post-Independence eras: assistant crown counsel from 1 June 1963, crown counsel from 16 May 1966, resident magistrate from 7 October 1968, director of public prosecutions in 1978, judge of appeal in 1988, and president of the Court of Appeal from 1989 until 1 June 2006. He was appointed Queen's Counsel and received national honours including the Order of Distinction, Commander Class, and the Order of Jamaica.

Speakers at the service included President of the Court of Appeal Mara McDonald Bishop, who recalled meeting him as a young law-school clerk and said he told her, "There's no need to be shy. I'm an ordinary human being. Being a judge is just a job I do." Former colleague Lester Lloyd Pinoch traced a friendship dating to their school days at St. Aloysius and St. George's College. Clive Tapper, representing the Kiwanis Club of North St. Andrew, described Forte's decades of charity work with youth, children's homes, and community projects.

Constituency representatives from St. James West Central, where his widow Marlene Malahoo Fort, KC, MP, serves, thanked him for supporting her political work. His grandchildren Melissa, Sydney, and Dominic, reading on behalf of his children Graham, Shelanne, and Can, remembered a devoted father and grandfather who balanced high office with family traditions, church ushering, Kiwanis service, and mentorship.

Mrs. Malahoo Fort, in a widow's tribute, spoke of their marriage and of his final days at home, including counsel she said he offered on 4 June about balancing public comment with respect for due process. Archbishop Kenneth Richards preached on justice, mercy, and humility, drawing on scripture chosen by the family.

Justice Forte was predeceased by his first wife, Margaret, and by siblings Donovan Fort and Maria Webb, known as Bluesy. He is survived by his wife Marlene, his children, grandchildren, sister Brunhild Fox, and a wide circle of friends. The service closed with committal prayers and the hymn he chose, "It Is Well With My Soul."