ISAAC
CAPHART (CAPEHART)
Sunrise: June 22, 1922 Sunset: February 28,
2010
A
tribute to our father, Isaac "General Cape"
Caphart (Capehart), the patriarch of the Caphart
family who departed this earth in his 87th year
to be with our Lord on Sunday February 28, 2010
at 9:00 AM (GMT). General Cape was born on June
22, 1922 (during Charlie King's time) in Cangbor,
a town in the Manban-Kabah District No. 4 in
Margibi County, formerly Marshall Territory.
This town is located in the general vicinity
of Du Side, Firestone Liberia (FSLB), formerly
called Firestone Plantations Company (FPCO).
Isaac Caphart (his last name was his given name,
not a surname) was the youngest (and the last
surviving) of four children. Papa died at the
home of his son Jonathan on the morning of Sunday
February 28, 2010 in Wood Camp, Payneswille.
Papa was a member of the Roman Catholic Church
and worshipped at St. Pius X Parish Church in
Research Camp, Harbel, FSLB, Liberia.
At
an early age, the young Master Caphart was sent
to Johnsonville to live in the household of
his uncle Peter King. Mr. King in turn placed
him with a Miss Eva, a lady from Sierra Leone.
Papa said that Miss Eva then took him to Freetown
where he spent a few of his formative years.
He recalled that rice was eaten only on Sundays
in Miss Eva's household - meals during the week
were some cassava-based preparations. Due to
his Freetown experience, papa would spend sometimes
teach us some Creole. When papa's father died
in the late 1930s, coupled with pressure from
his family to return him, his stay in Freetown
was ended. When he got back to his family in
Cangbor, the nearby FPCO was big business. He
then took up a truck operator apprenticeship
with Mr. Jacob Jones of FPCO. General Cape thus
began his lifetime career with FPCO/FSLB and
his contributions to society.
General
Cape, or General for short, spent his entire
career in the Transport Department of FPCO.
After almost ten years of apprenticeship (a
non-paying job), General was formally employed
(ID No. 8031) by the company on December 16,
1949, where he rose from driver to chief "Jack
Truck" or heavy-duty Tow Truck driver/operator.
Other than the jack truck, papa drove other
vehicles, one of which was the bus which took
clerks and supervisors to and from work, and
this job enabled him to make friends with countless
FPCO/FSLB employees, bothe the old and the young,
including some of our friends.
When
we were young, papa would sometimes take us
on his towing assignments. One of those assignments
was to retrieve a company pick-up truck that
had gone down a ravine on the Buchanan highway,
somewhere near the St. John's River. To retrieve
this truck, General was challenged because a
straight-line pull by just two cables was too
strenuous on each cable. So, in order to pull
the truck out, General somehow used the trees
in the area to create some kind of complex pulley
system, making multiple cable contacts with
the truck. Little did we know that General was
using the laws of physics to redistribute the
weight, thereby reducing the strain on the cables.
General received loud cheers from the by-standers
and we were beaming with pride for papa. A pastime
of the Transport Dept. workers was playing checkers,
and General was very skilled at that. With the
game came a lot of jokes, and General was legendary
for his jokes. Papa worked for the company until
his retirement on July 1, 1987, after 37 unbroken
years.
General
Cape was the consummate family man. He loved
his wives (four in all, three of which predeceased
him) and children (12, one of which predeceased
him, not counting at least nine that died either
at birth or in infancy). Papa had no favorites,
either we all had it or none had it. His discipline,
or tough love, was also across the board. As
much as the disciplinarian he was, his affections
were very genuine. He would cuddle us and tell
us stories and sing to us and dance for us and
cook for us and washed our clothes (using starch
scented with actual lemon leaves and mixed with
"Blue"). For a man of limited formal
education, papa was particular about our education,
and he did his utmost best to provide us with
a decent education. He was very proud when one
of his sons received the coveted FPCO academic
scholarship in 1973 to attend high school. His
persistence on sound education rewarded him
with college degrees (including a graduate degree
from a U.S. Ivy League university) for several
of his children. One son is presently Staff
Supervisor with FSLB, while another is in the
education field with the company. Another son
rose to the rank of Colonel in the Liberian
government's Special Security Service. In Murphy
Camp (the last six lines of homes in Camp One,
Harbel), our friends thought we had the coolest
dad he always playful with them, making jokes
for them. This tribute is also on behalf of
you all who knew General, and if you wish to
make your own, please forward same to Richard
Caphart at the email address below, and it will
be read at the Wake/Funeral (if you cannot do
so in person).
Papa
was also skilled at carpentry and gardening
and poultry farming. He did all of these for
his family. He raised chickens and ducks, and
he built sheds and ponds for them, all within
our home. The chicken coops doubled as benches
to sit on in our piazza. After work, you would
always find papa in his garden until nightfall.
Not only did he grow vegetables he also planted
fruit trees. In Murphy Camp, ours was the only
house (No. T-222, which the Caphart clan inhabited
for 58 years) adorned with "Saw-Saw"
trees and a Butter Pear (Avocado) tree (which
also doubled as papa's "dentist" -
go figure). Papa also planted a Bread Nut tree
and an apple tree. While we enjoyed the bread
nuts, sadly and disappointingly, the apple tree
failed to bear fruit.
By
working for the company, papa became a trailblazer
and pioneer for his extended family (which included
total strangers) and relatives. Not only was
our two-bedroom home (which he had repartitioned
into four bedrooms) always overflowing with
his relatives, he also provided board for a
number of his own apprentices (in the driver/operator
trade). His apprentices, known as "car
boys", also served in many domestic capacities
to earn their keep, including cooking and baby-sitting.
Some of his apprentices who later drove and/or
owned cabs (like the late Isaac Warner) always
gave us free ride whenever we encountered them
(even gave us money). Some of his apprentices
(like Tamba and Morris) went on to full employment
with FPCO/FSLB.
Papa
was also a legendary match-maker. Through him
some of his neighbors (like the late James Samuel)
married his relatives (like his niece Thon),
and his relatives (like his cousin Tommy Taye)
married his wives' relatives (like his sister-in-law
Kohnbay), thereby resulting in cousins-both-ways
for us. All in all, General Cape was one of
those rare folk treasures of his generation,
an irreplaceable gem. We are indeed grateful
that the good Lord, in the midst of war and
its ancillary casualties, blessed us with papa
for 87 years. Not only did he nurture 12 children
to maturity, he was also able to interact and
play with some of his 46 grandchildren and 25
great grandchildren.
His
daughter, Dehkontee Mammie Caphart-Elliott,
two brothers and one sister predeceased him.
To mourn his loss are many relatives, friends
and well-wishers. Also, papa, grandpa, and grand-grand
will be deeply missed by his children: George
Gbono (Oretha), Jonathan Tetehma (Mondayma),
Martha Yeatee, Reginald Gonzaga Vaiyon (Anastasia),
Emma Yodeh, Nathaniel Alfred (Amelia), Richard
Sarday (Jowo, deceased), Randolph Isaac Deddeh
(Cecelia), Annie (Johnson), Mardea and Jehu;
grandchildren: Theresa "TC", Tomah,
Rocky, Mardea, Mini, Thomas, Joetta, Ellen,
Edna, Timothy, Elijah, Cecile, Teeta, Anthony
"Big Daddy", Tony "Small Daddy",
Antoinette "Mammah", Togar "Princo",
Trokon "Botch", Gardea, Tenezee, Feeta
Janjay, Vaiyon Youjay "VY", Lorpue
"Eeyea", Jane "Jimmah",
Emerson Zayzay, Eliza Dehkontee, Patience, Shadrach,
Dehkontee, Richard Jr., Bikpan Chukie Sarday,
Reuben Fahnia, Benedict Saylaye, Lucas Garmonwohn
Cornelius Sarday, Glaypaugar Alphaeus Kollie
Sarday, Melvin, Andrei, Banica, Randolph Jr.,
Teeta, Toma, Musu, Prince, Emma, Cheendeh, and
Wluwondah; great grandchildren: Edwin, Stanley,
Faith, Henry, Oretha, Mandeh, Diamond, Ramsey,
Grace, Elezeke, Kimberline "Menzohn",
Eltonya, Ashley, Alondra, Tony Travis, Rachelle
Menzohn, Faith, Alphonso, gifty, Eunice, Sumon,
Esther, Beautrice, Dehkontee and Dehontee. May
his soul and those of the departed rest in perpetual
peace in the bosom of Abraham.
FUNERAL
ARRANGEMENTS
The
Funeral procession from Green Pasture Funeral
Home will commence at 10:00 AM on Saturday March
13, 2010.
The
Wake will be held thereafter at 10:30 AM, followed
by the Funeral at 11:30 AM, both at St. Pius
X Parish Church in Research Camp, Harbel, FPCO,
Liberia.
Interment
and Repast will be held immediately after the
Funeral in Mt. Barclay at the Caphart family
compound.
Contacts:
George Caphart 077-279040
Jonathan Caphart 077-235474
Martha Caphart 077-794332
Reggie Caphart 718-815-1106
Emma Caphart 06-593946
Nathaniel Caphart 06-478644
Richard Caphart (cencapr1@yahoo.com) 077-519463
Randolph Caphart 077-939992
Jehu Caphart 06-903038
