{{Short description|Bahamian lawyer and writer (1941–2006)}} {{Infobox person | name = | honorific_suffix = CMG | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1941|10|03|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{death date and age|2006|11|25|1941|10|03|df=y}} | death_place = Jamaica | nationality = | alma_mater = University of London | other_names = | children = | education = Government High School | occupation = Educator, lawyer, actor and playwright | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = | spouse = Diane Gail North (m. 1968) }} '''Winston Vernon Saunders''', CMG (3 October 1941 – 25 November 2006) was a Bahamian educator, lawyer, actor, playwright and cultural director.<ref name=obit />
==Early life and education==
In his youth, Saunders attended Government High School in Nassau, Bahamas, later becoming head boy there. Having attended the Bahamas Teachers' College, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) in Classics from the University of London in 1964. He taught English at St Anne's High School in Nassau from 1964 until 1968.<ref name=obit>[http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/bahamasweb2/home.nsf/vContentW/Cultural+Affairs+Dept.--Physical+Resources--Winston+Saunders!Opendocument Obituary]</ref>
In April 1968, Saunders married Diane Gail North.<ref name=obit /> In the fall of that year, he returned to London to obtain a postgraduate certificate in education at the University of London.
==Career==
Saunders served as vice-principal of RM Bailey Senior High School from 1969 to 1970. In 1970, he joined a law firm as an articled clerk. Saunders was called to the Bahamas Bar in 1974, and later became a partner in the prestigious Bahamian law firm of McKinney, Bancroft and Hughes.<ref name="obit" />
An actor, playwright, director and producer, Saunders assumed the position of chairman of the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts from 1975 to 1998.
Saunders was the author of two notable Bahamian plays – ''Them'' and ''You Can Lead A Horse To Water'' – as well as the ''Nehemiah Quartet'' series.<ref name="obit" /> Saunders founded the Bahamas National Youth Choir, National Dance Company, National Children's Choir.<ref name="mourners">[http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=10826 Mourners Bid Farewell]</ref> He was also a driving force behind the modern Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts.<ref name="mourners" />
Saunders was Her Majesty's Coroner for the Bahamas from 1993 and 2000.<ref name="mourners" />
== Awards and honours == Saunders won a number of awards including, DANSAs for playwriting, the Meta, a special DANSA for Excellence in Theatre, the Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Citizen Award for contribution to Culture and the Silver Jubilee Award for Culture.<ref name="repertory" />
In 2004, Saunders was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG).<ref name=repertory>Arthia Nixon, [http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/arts-and-culture/Winston_V_Saunders_Repertory_Season_Takes_Centre_Stage2358.shtml "Winston V. Saunders Repertory Season Takes Centre Stage"], theBahamasWeekly.com, 9 January 2008.</ref>
==Death==
Saunders died aged 65 on 25 November 2006 in Jamaica, where, in his role as chairman of the Bahamas’ National Commission on Cultural Development, he was assisting in discussions to plan the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.<ref name="mourners"/>
Saunders was survived by his wife Gail Saunders, OBE, the director-general of Heritage in the Bahamas.<ref name=obit />
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Winston}} Category:1941 births Category:2006 deaths Category:20th-century Bahamian lawyers Category:20th-century dramatists and playwrights Category:Alumni of the University of London Category:Bahamian dramatists and playwrights Category:Bahamian male actors Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Category:People from Nassau, Bahamas