The Nunaciat government is mourning the death of its first president-elect and a man who has had a significant impact on the people of Northern Labrador.
Jim Lyell died at a hospital in Happy Valley Guz on Friday after a long illness, just hours after the death of his wife, Jean, who only recently fell ill.
Lyell, who ran a successful restaurant and home food restaurant in Nain for nearly two decades, was born in Nutak in 1945. He and his family were forced to move to Nain as part of a provincial government resettlement program when he was on 11.
He was executive director of the Inuit Labrador Association from 1977 to 1981 and served for some time as postmaster in Nain.
He resumed his position as executive director of the LIA in 2002 and held the position until the formation of the Nunaciatut government in 2005.
He was a justice of the peace, served two terms as mayor of Nain and managed to become the first elected president of Nunatsiavut in 2008, a position he held until 2012.
Nunaciat President Johannes Lampe says there are no words to remove the pain and grief experienced by Lyell’s family at such a difficult time. He says the community has lost a great leader who has made a huge contribution to the progress of the rights, problems and concerns of all Labrador Inuit.
Add Comment