John maxwell jamaica biography of alberta

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Few persons in the history of modern Jamaica are as controversial as John Maxwell, the fiery, bushy-haired journalist and environmentalist who died last Friday at age 76.

A hero to the generation of journalists who emerged during the politically hostile 1970s, Maxwell was viewed as an enfant terrible by conservatives during that period when he openly supported the socialist policies of Prime Minister Michael Manley.

Maxwell's wife of 17 years, Marjan de Bruin, said he returned to Jamaica in late October from the Netherlands where he had received treatment for lung cancer.

A lifelong smoker, he had been diagnosed with the disease in 2008.

"He had been pretty stable between August and October. The doctors thought he was doing well," de Bruin told The Gleaner yesterday. "He had difficulty walking but was happy to be home."

To the end, which came at his St Andrew home at 5:15 p.m., de Bruin said her hu