Francis Vassallo writes:

Malta’s great loss is Heaven’s gain! Maurice was a true gentleman. I was extremely saddened on learning that he had passed away. He was a person I held in high esteem and for whom I had a great deal of respect.

I got to know Maurice personally way back in 1994. He had come to see me when I was governor of the Central Bank of Malta. With a smiling face and cap in hand, he asked for a sponsorship for the Silver in Malta Exhibition, which he, as Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti president, was organising at the Palace the following year. His charm and gentle approach, his enthusiasm for the project as well as his love of Malta’s heritage all made for a very convincing argument for the sponsorship, and for this he was extremely pleased and appreciative.

Following this initial introduction I got to know him better over the years and I distinctly remember my own father mentioning that he used to give private lessons to both Maurice and his brother Roger when they were boys and how fond he was of them both.

I fully understand how one could easily become affectionate to Maurice, as he had a great sense of humour and enjoyed a good clean joke, a naughty one as well. In fact, I spent quite a few years, even until recently, sending him jokes by e-mail, to which he always responded with a very witty comment.

When unfortunately he lost his wonderful son Mark, I had felt uncomfortable sending him jokes by mail until one day I met both Maurice and his wife Mary at a party and his wife had mentioned that Maurice used to enjoy receiving my jokes, after which obviously I restarted forwarding them again.

We constantly teased each other about having the same car which, when we had bought them, were the only two alike in Malta. Once he wittily told me that in a race with our drivers he would always come first as he sat in front and I at the back. There was never a moment when we occasionally met that he was not jovial. The last time I had a long conversation with him was a few months ago when we met for lunch, and what a pleasant one it was. We joked throughout.

I take this opportunity to express my sincere and wholehearted condolences to all his family, especially his beloved wife and son, but also share with them the fact that it is my firm belief that death is not the end but the beginning of a new life in Christ.

It is but the passage from this earth to meet the Lord Himself in person and we all know that Maurice is today enjoying His presence.

So let us all remember and bring to mind his image in the presence of the Lord.

May God grant him eternal rest.