Donald Seymour Speid

As a young man, he learned a trade as an apprentice at the Port Antonio Railway Corporation. With such Knowledge he excelled as a mechanical engineer. He was very skilled with his hands and he would spend timeless hours figuring out how to pull a machine apart and repair it back to its original form. Later in his life, he enjoyed getting parts from a junkyard to make old cars function again.

After the death of his father in the early 1960’s, he joined the work force on board the steam engine known as the Jamaica Planter. During those years of working on board the vessel, he helped his mother and his siblings.

Donald migrated to the United States, where he married Myrtle Farr who pre-deceased him. The Union produced one daughter, Tanya. While living in the United States and having a family to care for, he sought employment with the Staten Island Ferry where he worked as a Marine Engineer for over 25 years, until his retirement in October 2002.

Having a stable income, he then went on to concentrate on moving his siblings out of the community of Port Antonio. Along with his late wife Myrtle they were able to have his siblings join him in the United States.

Donald was beloved, he liked the company of his family and friends and was a low-keyed easy-going person. Unlike his spouse, who was a ‘talker’, he was a ‘listener’ and in that way they complimented each other. In his leisure time, he watched westerns and detective movies. However, he was very happy when he listened to jazz, reggae and the blues. He valued his relationships with his family, always encouraged his children to do their best, and celebrated their achievements as his own.

Today we mourn his passing. He has left eight siblings, five children, eleven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.