An overflowing packed St. Ignatius Catholic Church on Walkers Road was the setting for the Mass of Thanksgiving for the life of George Town businessman Derek Brian Wight who died at the
age of 79.

Mr. Wight was born in British Guiana (now Guyana), became a banker and was eventually transferred to the Cayman Islands where he met his wife, Marguerite McTaggart, daughter of one of Caymans’ heroes, Dr. Roy McTaggart and they had ten children together.

Derek’s love of cricket (he came from a cricketing family) and the By-Rite Cricket team was formed with at one time half the side being filled with his children. He also was instrumental in starting the cricket league,  the Cayman Islands football league and the Cayman Tennis Club where he was an avid tennis player. He sponsored a major road relay for a number of years that helped to create an interest here in long distance running and competition. He personally paid for clay imported from Jamaica and placed it on the square at the Smith Road Oval on which cricket is played today.

Derek joined the McTaggart family business and made it one of the largest group of businesses on Grand Cayman. By-Rites was Cayman’s first supermarket and his other stores were Bata Shoe Store, Tom-Sun Garage, McTaggart Appliance and Paint Store, Treasure Cove Duty Free and Walkers Road Texaco. He was founding member of Cayman National Bank, founding shareholder of both Jacques Scott and Cayman Distributors and a founding member of The Chamber of Commerce. He also developed the Eden Centre that was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. Along with John Collins, Derek created a fund to build the Catholic Preparatory School.

His beloved wife Marguerite, his children, grand children, great grandchildren, brothers and sisters, and other friends and family mourn his passing. Derek Wight will be missed. Rest in peace.