Jamaica Observer – Tourism and business icon Gordon “Butch” Stewart will be laid to rest at his Rio Chico property in Ocho Rios, St Ann, tomorrow after a private thanksgiving ceremony to be attended by members of his family only.
Stewart, the founder and chairman of the ATL Group of Companies, which included the world-renowned Sandals and Beaches resorts, as well as the Jamaica Observer, passed away Monday night in the United States. He was 79.
His death sent shock waves around the world and drew glowing tributes from heads of governments, business and tourism leaders who described him as the quintessential marketer and visionary whose multiple award-winning resorts helped to establish the Caribbean, especially Jamaica, as a world-class tourist destination.
“He was a marketing genius and talented showman, but those who knew him best recognised that he was a dreamer who could dream bigger and better than anyone,” Stewart’s son, Adam, said in a statement Monday night
