Hartley Neita is dead

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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Hartley Neita is dead </span>

<span style="font-style: italic">Friday, 12 December 2008</span>

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Mr. Neita's son, Gary, told RJR News he died at home Friday morning from what appears to be a heart-related illness.

&quot;This morning my son found him in his room and he seemed to have some difficulty breathing ... when we summoned an ambulance, there were no vital signs but we took him to St. Andrew Hospital but they weren't able to revive him.

It appears to have been his heart,&quot; he said.

Gary Neita added that his father died while working on a project.

&quot;Hartley was in extremely good spirits yesterday and even this morning and even people who called me and said they had seen him this week mentioned that he was remarkably upbeat. </span></a>

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Re: Hartley Neita is dead

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<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #990000"><span style="font-size: 17pt">Journalist Hartley Neita dies</span></span></span>

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Veteran journalist Hartley Neita died just before noon yesterday at the home of one of his sons in St Andrew. He was 78.

Neita, an author and columnist during his lifetime, also served as press secretary to several heads of government, including the People's National Party's Norman Manley and the Jamaica Labour Party's Sir Alexander Bustamante and Hugh Shearer.

Fellow journalist Ken Jones, reminiscing with the Observer about the man he called 'friend', yesterday described Neita as a &quot;good journalist and an even better friend&quot;.

&quot;His family and mine grew up together; we were like family, not just friends, and I am really sad to hear of his passing,&quot; he said.

Theatre personality Buddy Pouyat, in his reflection, said Neita was irreplaceable.

&quot;He was one of the top Jamaican scholars, a very nice, respectable man and worked on both sides of the political fence and he was a gentleman,&quot; Pouyat told the Observer.

&quot;I don't think we are going to be able to replace Hartley Neita. He was a sincere, honest fellow, a top intellect,&quot; he said.

Yesterday, the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) expressed regret at Neita's passing and offered its condolences to his relatives and friends.

The umbrella body for journalists recalled that last year it honoured Neita, along with two other veteran media practitioners, for serving the field of journalism for 60 years.

The PAJ also pointed out that Neita began his career in media by writing short stories, movie reviews and sports reports for The Star newspaper in 1947; and on retirement from the public service in 1981, he returned to his true love - journalism.

At the time of his death, Neita was a columnist for The Gleaner since 1993, and author of the long running feature, This Day in Our Past, which began in 1996 as Historical Highlights, the PAJ said in a statement.

&quot;It was the sort of column that has been informed by his knowledge of how government administration works and reflected a keen sense of cultural matters and relationship of the Jamaican people in many spheres,&quot; the PAJ statement quoted Ken Allen, retired editor-in-chief of The Gleaner.



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<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #CC0000"><span style="font-size: 17pt">Hartley Neita dies at age 78</span></span></span>

Published: Saturday | December 13, 2008



Neita

Veteran journalist and communications consultant, Hartley Neita, died suddenly yesterday morning after complaining of not feeling well. He was rushed to a nearby hospital in Kingston, where he died. He was 78.

In a tribute to Neita, the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) expressed regret at his passing. It noted that he, along with two other veteran media practitioners, were honoured last year for services to the profession of journalism for 60 years.

Neita began his career in media by writing short stories, movie reviews and sports reports
for THE STAR newspaper. He served as press secretary to several prime ministers; and on retirement from the public service in 1981, he returned to his true love: journalism.

Neita had been a regular columnist at The Gleaner since 1993. He was the compiler of the long-running feature, This Day in Our Past, which began in 1996 as Historical Highlights.

&quot;It was the sort of column that has been informed by his knowledge of how government administration works and reflected a keen sense of cultural matters and relationship of the Jamaican people in many spheres,&quot; said Ken Allen, Opinion Page Editor at The Gleaner.

Reacting to news of Neita's death, Jenni Campbell, managing editor at The Gleaner said: &quot;We have lost a stalwart. Hartley has left us a legacy that celebrates the fruits of hard work, the benefits of rigour, and the sanctity of fairness and balance.&quot;

She said, while The Gleaner family mourns Hartley's passing, &quot;We will cherish his memories and continue striving to maintain his high standards and dedication to his lifelong profession.&quot;

Greatly respected

Actor Buddy Pouyatt, a close friend of Neita, described him as &quot;One of the brightest Jamaicans that has ever been born.&quot; Pouyatt said Neita was &quot;greatly respected&quot; by both sides of the political divide. He served as a press secretary to prime ministers of Jamaica Labour Party and People's National Party administrations.

Playwright Basil Dawkins, another close associate of Neita, said the deceased believed in the &quot;sacredness of decency&quot; and was disturbed by the descent of the society into the killing of women and children. Dawkins said in recent times, he had sensed an &quot;air of disappointment&quot; in Neita that his generation had not delivered on the expectations of Independence in 1962.

Neita's son Gary said the family was saddened by his passing.

&quot;We are quite taken aback and surprised. Hartley was in good spirits and was looking forward to Christmas,&quot; he told The Gleaner yesterday.

At the time of his death, Neita was in the process of writing a book on the construction and operation of the United States Air and Naval Base at Fort Simmonds (later Vernamfield) in Clarendon.

His son said he was particularly excited about this book and was looking forward to having it ready for February.

Neita was the author of two biographies of Jamaican prime ministers. One was Hugh Shearer - A Voice for the People and the other Donald Sangster - They called Him Mr Commonwealth. He also wrote a book released earlier this year called The Search about some high-school boys who, in 1939, were lost in the Blue Mountains.

Neita is survived by three daughters, two sons and other relatives.