Good bye my lovely uncle Herman

The obituary for my uncle says it all today. Love you uncle.

Herman, the fifth child of Thomas and Jane Reynolds, was born early one Sabbath morning on May 1, 1937 in the tiny fishing village of Whitehouse, Westmoreland in Jamaica. He was a very happy, helpful and playful child who loved the great outdoors. He particularly enjoyed running his wheel along the road as he went on errands. He and his younger brother Irwin were inseparable as children, often going bird hunting and exploring the woods together. One of Herman’s fondest childhood memories was waiting at the seaside every morning for the arrival of the colorful fishing boats weighted down with all manner of catch. As he peered childishly into the throng of weather-beaten faces emerging from the boats, one face in particular, that of his handsome father, would fill him with joyful anticipation. Oh the stories of the sea that his father would tell! Herman developed a love of fishing that remained a lifelong passion and sparked a similar interest in his children and grandchildren.

At the early age of ten, he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal savior and was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He retained that first love experience for his entire life.

He completed his early education at king’s Primary School. Following this, he attended West Indies College (Now Northern Caribbean University) where he successfully obtained his Senior Cambridge Certificate. He entered the civil service of the Government of Jamaica in 1957 and worked in various ministries for the next twenty years.

In July 1960, while a member of the Kencot Seventh-Day Adventist Church, he became hopelessly smitten by the former Miss Fay Evans. After a two-year courtship, they were married on April 18, 1962. This union was blessed with two beautiful children, Handel, a radiologist in Atlanta, GA and Heather, a registered nurse in Sunrise, FL.

Due to the turbulent political climate in Jamaica in the late 1970s, Herman decided to emigrate to the United States with his family in 1978. After spending one year with his sister Verna in New York, He relocated to Florida, going, like Abraham, to a land he did not know.

During the three decades he resided in Florida, he was actively involved in his local church, serving, at various times, as Sabbath School teacher, Personal Ministries leader, Deacon, Elder and First Elder.

Herman will be sadly missed by Fay, his devoted wife of fifty years; his children Handel Reynolds (Marlene) and Heather Reynolds-Bartley (Ludlow); Grandchildren, Ludlow (LJ) Bartley Jr., Gevin and Telissa Reynolds; siblings, Melvin Reynolds, Celeste Laws, Verna Green and Irwin Reynolds along with nieces, nephews, cousins, church family and a host of friends.

To know the man was to love him!