Peter Hope Marshal Gayle

Principal Scientific Officer, Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, University of the West Indies, Jamaica

AMLC Institutional Representative

The AMLC has lost one of its best and brightest stars.  The AMLC extends its deepest sympathy to family and friends of Mr. Peter Hope Marshal Gayle. Peter passed away on Friday April 17, 2020 at the University of the West Indies (UWI) hospital.  Peter served as the Principal Scientific Officer at the UWI’s Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory (DBML), having assumed responsibilities there in 1985.

In honor of his life and his service to DBML, the UWI flags were flown at half-mast on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.

To those of us who had the honor of knowing him, Peter was deeply dedicated to the core mission and values of the AMLC and promoted the importance of supporting students pursuing careers in the field of marine biology. He was a leading member of the AMLC and served as Institutional Representative for DBML for the last 20 years, served as president of the AMLC from 2012–2013, and had chaired the Publications Committee since 2016.

Peter’s bright spirit will be missed and the AMLC is forever indebted to Peter for his contributions, time, energy and effort he devoted to the AMLC. Thank you, Peter. You will always be remembered.

Since news of his passing hit the AMLC, there has been an outpouring of condolences by AMLC members who knew and cherished his thoughtful counsel and indomitable spirit. Some of those comments included the following:

This is a very sad moment for all of us, a big loss of an incredible friendly man. I do not have words to express the sadness this news brings to me.  May he Rest in Peace.

Really sad news. Peter was a kind and generous person and a good friend. He will be missed! My condolences to the family.

This is tragic.  As a grad student Peter was my connection to the world of Jamaican reefs and he helped me logistically, ecologically, and spiritually learn the pace of life and work in Jamaica in a huge way that I will never forget and always treasure. He's in my thoughts.

Very sad news indeed. Although I did not meet Peter personally, I had the chance to interact with him through e-mail exchanges regarding the AMLC support for publication of my group’s work presented at the AMLC meeting in Merida. Through this brief but fruitful exchange, I could sense a wonderful human being behind all his communications.  He will surely be missed both as a great person and scientist, may he rest in peace and may his family find the consolation and strength to carry on.