Governor Sir John Vereker and Premier Alex Scott were among the mourners paying tribute to Hamilton Mayor Jay Bluck who died of a heart attack on Friday.

Speaking to a packed congregation at Hamilton Cathedral Mayor Bluck?s son Johnny (John Bluck) Jr. said the turn out was testament to the impact his father had on people.

He said his father had been one of several guiding lights who helped bring the Bermuda Maritime Museum into existence while he had also been vital in setting up the National Gallery.

?Everything he did was with passion and drive, and some of us know to our detriment, that he was never afraid to speak his mind to get things done. Dad truly cared about the welfare and happiness of the ordinary individual Bermudian.?

He said in a changing economy and seemingly fragmented community his father cared about the disenfranchised because he understood they needed help to define themselves.

His father?s vision for Hamilton, cut short by his death just four months into his term, envisaged community Policing to make the City a safe to live and work. ?He believed this was the essential precursor to a future vibrant, living and breathing Hamilton City for the 21st Century. He envisioned new City parks, a new City hotel and new retail and leisure developments all to be developed within the framework of Hamilton?s beautiful historical heritage.

?He believed such development would provide a foundation for enhanced community living together with leisure and tourist activities to compliment the growing office environment, and make Hamilton a premier commercial and leisure City.

?All this he saw providing new jobs and vocational opportunities for Bermudians. This was a big vision but he was up to the task. I pray it was not wasted and that his successors will have the same strength, courage and passion to serve and complete Dad?s vision.?