News of the death of Holland Redfield, the six-time U.S. Virgin Islands senator and longtime voice of the V.I airwaves, brought words of sadness and recollections of his service to the territory.
Redfield died Saturday at the age of 78.
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. called Redfield “a dear friend, mentor and pillar of the community” in a statement issued by Government House.
“His comforting words through countless storms and recovery periods always gave us the information we needed to get through the day and the wisdom to get through the years,” Bryan said. “Yolanda and I offer our sincere condolences to his family, especially his daughter Amanda and his grandchildren. He was a true Virgin Islander and will be sorely missed by our entire community.”
A licensed commercial pilot, Holland Redfield moved to St. Croix in 1969. He became involved in Virgin Islands politics through Gov. Cyril E. King, where he worked as a campaign aide, before being appointed to the Public Services Commission by King. Redfield ran multiple times before being elected in 1984 as a Republican to the V.I. Legislature.
After serving six terms in the Legislature, five of them consecutively, Redfield turned to radio broadcasting. He was the host of “Straight Talk with Holland Redfield.”
“The Virgin Islands community will long remember former Senator Holland Redfield for his contribution to the people of the Virgin Islands and for his voice, especially during hurricane events,” Senate President Donna Frett-Gregory said.
In recognition of his service to the Virgin Islands community, the University of the Virgin Islands conferred on Redfield an honorary doctor of humane letters award.
“The members of the 34th Legislature offered condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Redfield,” the statement said. “During his time in office and countless times on the radio, Redfield would say ‘The difference between a statesman and a politician is that a politician works for the next election and a statesman works for the next generation.'”
