Two island nations have lost a giant. While this may sound like a Cliff's Notes summary of "Gulliver's Travels," Part I, the sad news in fact befalls not the fictional isles of Lilliput and Blefuscu but the actual archipelagos of Fiji and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). It is in the latter land, in the eastern Caribbean, where the tale of Donnie DeFreitas (pictured, left) begins. To clarify, he was not a giant in the literal sense, but rather a towering figure in table tennis. DeFreitas was a former president of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Table Tennis Association (SVGTTA). As a player, coach, administrator and a friend, he never failed to make a positive and lasting impression. According to Adrian Saunders, who grew up in SVG with DeFreitas, "He cultivated a vicious forehand loop which, when it landed, as it usually did, gave you much to think about in very little time." While DeFreitas was a talented player, he shone even brighter when helping others. As Joseph Carrington, one of SVG's leading players, recalls, "He was a mentor to me, as he helped me along as a young table tennis player." Former national champion Sean Stanley paints a parallel portrait. "He was always willing to assist in any way possible for the young table tennis players to improve their game," says Stanley. Eventually, DeFreitas' knack for leadership landed him the job of SVGTTA President. "He threw himself fully into promoting the game," says Saunders. "The strides made by the Table Tennis Association were the envy of some of the other sporting organisations." By all accounts, DeFreitas' excellent work promoting table tennis was fueled by a heartfelt concern for the well-being of everyone in the table tennis community. He continued coaching table tennis after moving to Fiji, where he passed away last week at the age of 63. "Donnie was an excellent administrator and more so, one of the greatest human beings that I have come into contact with," avows Carrington. "His loss is a great one to sports and to humanity." "St. Vincent and the Grenadines has lost an icon, a champion of the under privileged in sports and a great humanitarian," said Stanley. "Donnie had a heart of gold... I am a living product of his golden heart." As Scottish poet Thomas Campbell wrote some two centuries ago, "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." By this yardstick, Donnie DeFreitas is a first-ballot shoo-in for immortality. By any measure, he was a giant.

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