1980s
and ‘90s. For his service to the Island, he was named a member of the
Order of the British Empire by the Queen in 1989.
Mr
Lines remained active in the business field, serving as the chairman of the LOM
Group of Companies, Schroder Holdings Ltd, KFC (Bermuda) Ltd and as a director of
more than 30 publicly listed companies. He was also a founding member of
the Bermuda Stock Exchange and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
Bermuda.
His
son, Scott Lines, yesterday described his father as a loving man dedicated to
his family and Bermuda. He said. “I think everyone knew him as the
businessman and they knew him as the hard worker, but they didn’t know that he
was a father who was always there for his children and his family. As a
father and Chairman of LOM he imprinted his mark and imparted a depth of
knowledge and wisdom.’
“It
was always about his family. Business was his hobby. He never put it above
family or Bermuda.”
Bermuda
MP, Glen Smith described Mr Lines as a personal mentor and a man who made a
lasting impact on the Island. “It is a great loss for Bermuda,” Mr Smith
said. “He put Bermuda on the map, there’s no doubt about it. He put Bermuda in
good straits for many decades and for future generations.” “His presence
was always large in any room he went into,” he said. “He was a great listener
and he would always give advice, good advice”.
Former
Premier and Finance Minister David Saul said that he respected the former
banker as a business leader who made a major contribution to building the
Island’s economy. Dr Saul said: “There is no doubt that Bermuda owes him a
great debt for all of the work that he did to expand international business and
indeed the Bank of Bermuda. Lots of businesses in Bermuda benefit from his
efforts over the years.”
Finance Minister Bob Richards praised Mr Lines
as a man of vision, saying: “He was a person of huge drive and imagination and
he was really responsible for the global expansion of the bank. He really
made the Bank of Bermuda into the Island’s flagship corporate entity.”
Friend
and professional colleague Greg Haycock said that just as Mr Lines had
stewarded the Bank of Bermuda into an international business, so too did he
bring the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bermuda to an international
standing by initiating its affiliation with the Canadian institute. Those
higher standards proved significant in building Bermuda’s business reputation
overseas.
“I was a close friend of Donald’s for many
years and valued his friendship and support greatly,” he said. “I also had the
benefit of spending a lot of personal time with him over the last seven years
during his illness discussing his thoughts and hopes for Bermuda.
“Even during his long illness he was still very
interested in the future and development of Bermuda as he had so much to do
with creating the international business structure that we have today. Donald
was the driving force behind the international growth of the Bank of Bermuda
and the success that the Bank later achieved around the world.”
Mr.
Lines is survived by his wife, Janine, and four children, Brian, Scott, Craig
and Tricia.
For more information on the financial company that Mr lines was a chairman of, and which his sons are directors of, visit the following links:
