Anthony "Junior" Reid Memorial Fund

Anthony “Junior” Reid was a great father, husband and  friend. He passed away from an unknown cause Monday, January 18th 2016 at his home. 

He leaves behind his wife Annette, his daughter Ashley, step sons Sheldon and Dovan and his mother Linda.

Junior had only one dream: Of being able to provide for his family's needs so that his children would have the best education and shot at life possible in Jamaica.

Junior's memorial campaign is to raise money which will be given directly to his widow Annette so she and the children can live without immediate financial stress until they get back on their feet and find a way to support themselves.

$5000 isn't much compared to what we, as Canadians, would need to support ourselves, yet it will help them with so much.

This is what your donations will give Annette and the kids.

- Income support for Annette to continue to put decent meals on the table - $1500 would modestly cover food and cooking costs for a year

- School tuition for Ashley ($200/year) + supplies, lunches and transportation ($150/year) = $1800 would allow her to finish elementary school.

- $500 would allow Sheldon to finish his schooling through to graduation.

- Clothing and good shoes, to walk the rough mountain roads to reach main transport to school and the city and also fresh water - $300/year.

- Funds beyond this would cover the costs of tools or supplies need to provide work for herself i.e. planting more agriculture to live from or to sell in the market, to buy a goat or chickens.


From left (clock-wise):
1 - Sheldon, Annette, Ashley and Junior
2- Wash basin for the day
3 & 4 - Outhouse facilities
5 - Ashley doing drawing with her crayon gift
6 - Junior and Ashley at their home
7 - Kitchen / charcoal cooking stove

Meeting and knowing "Junior"
by Elliott Cozens

I met Anthony “Junior” Reid in 1997 on a walkabout through Salter’s Hill, St. James parish, Jamaica.  After he’d toiled for hours preparing his dinner and offered half of it to me hours after we'd met, I knew it was the beginning of a great friendship that would last the rest of our lives.

When I first started visiting Junior, he had regular work in a plantation and was very happy with life.  At that time I would bring him walkmans, headphones,  speaker wire - things that were important to him at the time.  Over the years as we both matured, this changed to clothing, kitchen supplies and tools that could allow him to thrive when work was scarce (its always scarce in Jamaica), and eventually school fees, uniforms, lunch and supplies for his children.  After the local plantation was closed over ten years ago, it decimated employment in the area, but Junior adapted and had mastered the art of making charcoal.


The last time I saw Junior was March 2015.  During the trip we had the visited the repair shop where it was determined that his Poulan 16” gas chainsaw was finally used down to the nub, and was fully beyond repair.  Junior was quite disappointed as he saw his livelihood slipping through his fingers, but I reassured him that the next time I came I would get him a brand new chainsaw.  Indeed, throughout 2015 I had bought Junior a brand new PoulanPro 18” gas chainsaw, complete with case and kit, a hammer drill, boxes of drill bits, a belt sander, solar lights, paint brushes – all sorts of tools that would allow him to provide for his family and thrive even when employment options were scarce.  As my gifts to him were piling up, I was getting more and more excited to plan my next trip down in the next month so I could bring it to him.

 The last time I spoke to Junior was January 4, 2016.  He told me he was ill with stomach pains, and wasn’t able to eat much solid food or keep it down.  He had visited a doctor who had told him it was an ulcer, and sent him home with pain medication and a date for further tests. 

Suddenly, on Monday January 18, 2016, before any tests could be completed, or before i was able to call back and speak to my friend one last time....Junior passed away peacefully at his home at 1 p.m.  He leaves behind his wife Annette, his daughter Ashley, step sons Sheldon and Dovan and his mother Linda who is still recovering from her second stroke.  My biggest regret is that i was not able to speak to him before he passed to assure him that I would help take care of his family.


Junior had only one dream: Of being able to reliably provide for his family's needs so that his children would have the best education and shot at life possible in Jamaica.  I cannot fathom the stress he would have had in his last days about how his family would survive as his illness left him unable to work.....and eventually left him on his deathbed.  Losing a family head, and sole bread winner is hard at the best of times, in the best of countries.  In Jamaica, it is a challenge to just regularly provide healthy daily meals, pay for transportation, school fees, uniforms, lunches, supplies etc. when both parents are alive.  Annette's income formerly consisted of picking some produce or making some porridge and selling it in the market, but with only one parent now ther family's world will have be completely shaken upside down.

Junior's Gofundme campaign is to raise money which will be given directly to his widow Annette so she can continue to raise the family without immediate financial worries until they get back on their feet. 

Bless up