James Facey
James V. Facey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 8, 1896 Jamaica |
| Died | July 9, 1975 Colon, Panama |
| NSA member | Central America 1951 - 1961 Panama 1961 - 1968 |
James 'Jimmy' Vassal Facey (August 8, 1896 - July 9, 1975) was a Jamaican-Panamanian Bahá’í who assisted with the administrative development of the Bahá’í Faith in Panama.
Biography[edit]
Facey was born in Jamaica in 1896. His father passed when he was young and he moved to Colon, Panama, with his mother in childhood where they were housed by an Anglican Priest.[1] Facey served in the Anglican Church as an acolyte in his youth and was encouraged to become a minister but decided against pursuing a church career and instead became an accountant securing a position with the Colon Import and Export Company.[2]
In 1924 Facey married Gladys Abrahams, who also worked as an accountant in Colon, and they had four children. They both decided to not affiliate with any church, although Facey was an active Freemason,[3] and had no interest in organized religion until meeting Louise Caswell and Cora Oliver in the early 1940's. They attended a series of classes, declared, and helped establish the Local Spiritual Assembly of Colon in 1948 both being elected to serve on the body. Facey served on the Colon Assembly as treasurer for the rest of his life.[2]
In 1951 Facey was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Central America as Treasurer when it was first established and served until 1961 when the independent National Spiritual Assembly of Panama was established. He was elected to the Panama Assembly as treasurer and served until 1968,[2] and in 1963 he attended the First International Convention in the Holy Land and cast a vote in the establishment of the Universal House of Justice.[3] While serving on the Assembly he helped secure a site for the construction of a Temple and he was asked to read devotions at the dedication of the Panama Temple when it was inaugurated in April 1972.[2]
In 1970 Facey retired and built a house in Puerto Pilon, a suburb of Colon, where he constructed an extensive garden. He continued to serve on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Colon, taught the Faith locally, and occasionally made trips across Panama. In 1975 he suffered an illness for three months before passing away in July.[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1978). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 16 (1973-1976), Pg(s) 556. View as PDF.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1978). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 16 (1973-1976), Pg(s) 557. View as PDF.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1978). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 16 (1973-1976), Pg(s) 558. View as PDF.
