PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maarten businessman and former Minister of Finance of the Netherlands Antilles, Mr. Frank Mingo passed away 11:00 pm Friday night at the Pablo Tubon hospital, Colombia, at the age of 68.
He was being treated at the hospital overseas for several weeks after taking ill on St. Maarten.
His children Brian Mingo, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of TelEm Group and Mark Mingo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Harbour Group of Companies and Notary Marlene Mingo, have all expressed extreme sadness at the passing of their father. We take solace in the fact that it was a restful and peaceful end.
“My brother, sister and I spent many hours with our father towards the end and he remained positive about the development of St. Maarten in the regional Caribbean context,” said son Brian Mingo.
“We had some laughs, shared some fond memories and he even got to do some things that were on his bucket list before his passing. His wisdom and counsel will be missed by all of us,” said Brian.
They mentioned that although their father was born in Aruba, his first thought and love was always for St. Maarten, where he grew up and was a businessman. He also guided his children to prominent positions in the island’s business community.
“As a former teacher at MPC and a proponent of good education for St. Maarten’s youth, he was extremely proud of what his own children had achieved academically and in their work lives and wasn’t afraid to say so publicly,” continued both Mark and Brian Mingo.
They said their father sacrificed much for the island and his family when he took on the duties of Minister of Finance in the Netherlands Antilles to ensure the Government of St. Maarten received its fair share of the Central Government pie.
“His name was Frank, and he stood by that name by getting a reputation for being a frank speaker who always said it as it was, getting into trouble on many occasions for taking a stand to defend St. Maarten’s interest in the then Federal government,” remembers Brian Mingo.
He served on many private and public boards, foundations and organizations and worked for a short while in Department of Economic Affairs on St. Maarten, but had a special love for politics where he was associated with and postulated himself for various elections as a Democratic Party candidate.
Brian Mingo said his father is still remembered by many as the former owner of the Yuppie gas station on the Sucker Garden Road who gave away free newspapers each morning to encourage customers to visit his gas station.
“He was a shrewd businessman, a great father and an even greater lover of, St. Maarten,” added Brian.
He said friends and former colleagues in government are being informed of his passing in the other Dutch Caribbean islands.
Meantime the family is making arrangements to have the body repatriated to St. Maarten where funeral arrangements will be made and announced at a later date.
