JEREMY FRITH

JEREMY FULLER FRITH Jeremy Frith died, suddenly and without warning, of a heart attack, on December 8th at his home in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He was 64. He is survived by his wife, Susan, and by his two sons, Josiah of Ottawa and Alec of Halifax. He also leaves behind two brothers, John and Michael, and his sister Wendy, as well as many nieces and nephews and scores of friends in Bermuda and abroad. Jerry grew up in Bermuda and was educated at Warwick Academy, Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and McGill University in Montreal. He then became an independent farmer in Warwick, presiding over the Farmers''' Association and consistently winning awards at the annual Agricultural Exhibition. In later years he moved to Australia and then to Canada, seeking broader scope for his calling as a cultivator -- and guardian -- of nature'''s bounty. In 1991 Jerry settled in Cape Breton Island, where he bought and revitalised an old farm. He concentrated on the conservation of the standing forest and was named winner of the best managed woodlot award for northern Nova Scotia. He produced for sale a broad range of organic vegetables, and at the time of his death he was the president of the Farmer'''s Market Association for the whole province. Jerry was a poet, best known in Bermuda for his book of tongue-in-cheek poems, ''"Oh Gawd, I Vish Dis Ig'''rance Vud Stop!''�, many of which were written in Bermudian dialect. He also had a lifelong interest in music and, more recently, in amateur dramatics. He brought all of his many talents to the community where he lived, a rural area near the town of Baddeck. The outpourings of support for the family and the unprecedented attendance at his funeral there last week -- in the midst of a blizzard that made the roads all but impassable! -- bore witness to the popularity and respect that he commanded. Service was held in the Presbyterian church of which he was an elder and a lay minister. Jerry was buried on his farm, among the fields and trees that he so dearly loved. A memorial gathering will be held in Bermuda, probably in the coming summer when his extended family and friends can most readily attend. It will be announced in this newspaper.