The eldest child of Winston and Vivian Washington, Oral Hamlet Washington, was born on September 19, 1949 in Westmoreland, Jamaica W.I. Known as Errol to many, Oral attended Bluefields Primary School and then went to Senior High School in Savanna la Mar. Oral was an all-around student where he did well in every subject. However, the subject that he excelled in was math. Oral was brilliant when it came to mathematical problems, so much so, he was sought out by friends and family for assistance with their school math assignments.

In 1970, Oral migrated to New York where he attended RCA Institute, a school for electronics, something that he always had a love for. Besides having a love for the latest in electronics, Oral’s true passion was driving. Oral was a shareholder in Communicar, a ground transportation service, and worked as a driver where he learned the streets of New York City inside and out before GPS was even thought of.

Oral was all about music and a good sound system. He enjoyed dancing and reggae was his favorite kind of music to dance to. If there was good music and a space to dance, Oral was quick to get on the floor. His love for sports was unmatched within the family, and his ability to breakdown any political matter to a science was like no other.

In 1974, Oral married the love of his life, his soulmate Marilyn Walker and they started their life together. After spending one year in marital bliss, they started their family and had two daughters. Together, they worked very hard to pursue their dreams, and to provide a well-balanced environment for their children. Ensuring that they had a good education and a firm grasp on history was also of importance to him. So much so that he made sure that he had the early version of the worldwide wide web available: encyclopedias, black history books, and anything that could provide insight from a historical context. After living in New York for 26 years, Oral and his family moved to Georgia to start a new chapter, obtained his HVAC
certification and continued his work in that area until 2020.

On January 2nd, the Lord called Oral home to glory. He is survived by his wife Marilyn, daughters Kim and LaShone, son-in-law Alonzo, his father Winston, mother-in-law Vioris, siblings Gravelle, Maureen, Michael, Joan, and Angela, brothers-in-law, Raymond, Lyndon and Tamlin, many nieces, nephews, cousins, and other family members and friends.