The Most Hon. Hugh Lawson Shearer's body will lie in state at the following venues:
July 14
 Vere Technical High School, in Hayes, Clarendon
July 15 The BITU Headquarters, on Duke Street in Kingston
July 16 and 17 The National Arena, Independence Park, in Kingston
 
QUOTE
Our trade union movement has not only preserved the rights and liberties of the working man and his family, but has also made a major contribution to the re-distribution of the resources and incomes produced in the society. Indeed, the trade union movement is probably more advanced and more developed in Jamaica than in any other country in the world. I am now telling all Jamaica that our country owes a great deal of gratitude to the trade union movement for the preservation of our democratic rights.
The Most Hon. Hugh Lawson Shearer
 
 
TRIBUTE TO THE MOST HON. HUGH LAWSON SHEARER, O.N., P.C. BY THE MOST HON. EDWARD SEAGA, O.N., P.C., M.P., LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
 
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) announces with deep regret the passing of former Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Hugh Lawson Shearer, O.N., P.C. He died at his home in Hope Pastures this morning after a prolonged illness.

Mr. Shearer served Jamaica as Prime Minister from 1967-72, succeeding Sir Donald Sangster who passed away in April 1967 after a sudden illness.

Mr. Shearer was a gentle giant straddling the trade union movement and holding the reins of government, the two pillars of Jamaica’s modern history. He served as a Parish Councillor in the Kingston & St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) in 1947-51 and a Member of Parliament for West Kingston, 1955-59, and later for South Eastern Clarendon, 1967-93. He served also as Senator in the intervening years.

His seminal achievement as Prime Minister was the expansion of the secondary school system in Jamaica by doubling the number of institutions with the addition of 60 new secondary schools. This opened the gate to secondary education for thousands of young Jamaicans whose education previously ended at the All Age School post-primary level.

In 1963, Hugh Shearer in giving Jamaica’s country statement to the United Nations presented a proposal for 1968 to be declared Human Rights Year. The proposal was accepted.

A life long advocate of workers rights, in keeping with the traditions of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the Jamaica Labour Party, Hugh Lawson Shearer ascended to the pinnacle of the trade union movement when, with the complete support of all trade unions, he was elected Chairman of the Joint Trade Unions Research Centre in 1992, a position from which he retired this year.

Hugh Shearer, despite his enormous authority and power, was a humble man who never forgot his roots and never failed to use his high office in protection of the poor and disadvantaged.

A captivating personality, his raucous laughter and strong advocacy will always ring in the staterooms and boardrooms where with consummate negotiating skills, he found solutions to the most difficult problems as he brought each argument to a close with a statement of finality.

The Jamaica Labour Party grieves the passing of our elder statesman, our friend, our leader. We express the deepest sorrow to his family and appreciation to his widow Dr. Denise Eldermire for the long and dedicated personal care she gave to her husband in his final years.