Howard Remy

Howard Remy was born on July 12, 1977 in Dennery River on the beautiful island of St. Lucia, to his parents Gregory Remy and Lucia Swanson (surnamed Sumra). Raised by his grandparents, Howard grew up loving gardening and cattle raising, which was taught to him by his grandfather. Howard was always a go-getter, and even at a tender age his eagerness to learn new things propelled him to learn how to drive a tractor. There was so much to Howard, and even as a child he had a very distinct personality. Growing up, Howard was very playful, in fact so much so that his playfulness would sometimes get him into trouble. Once when he was young, he went with his friends to the river and he began doing flips. As he was flipping he fell onto his stomach, and of course, he had to play it off since his friends began to laugh at him. He had to show that he wasn’t in any pain so as not to give them the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten hurt. Though he shrugged off the pain in front of his friends, he did in fact become ill as a result of his fall. He was very weak and could not walk on his own; his fall took a serious toll on him. His grandmother worried and no one knew what was really wrong with Howard, but she recommended that his mother take him to a local herbalist. Thank God they got him there in time. The herbalist let them know that if he had gotten there just one day later, his illness would have worsened. The herbal medication that Howard received helped him to regain his strength where he was able to walk again on his own and to help the pain subside.

Howard Remy was not your average man. Though he did not graduate college, he exuded intelligence and articulacy far beyond what a paper degree could define. Howard was a hands-on learner and learned by doing the things that he was interested in. That’s how he learned to work well with his hands and how he was able to pick up skills like carpentry and mechanic work. Howard was also an industrious man and developed a successful landscaping business.

Howard had a very eventful life, was loved by his family and friends and shared a timeless love with his wife of over 17 years, Bertilia St. Brice-Remy. Their love story just highlights Howard’s lust for life and his boldness to go after what he wanted. Just like he developed a keen interest in handiwork when he set his eyes on Bertilia, he developed a keen interest in making her acquaintance. The two first met at a drive-in in November of 2002. Howard set eyes on Bertilia first but didn’t really know how to approach her, the soon-to-be love of his life. This didn’t stop him; he followed Bertilia around the drive-in for a bit and finally mustered up the courage to speak to her saying, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”, to which she responded, “That was so lame, but because you're so cute, I’ll talk to you”. From then on, the two developed a strong bond and took a quick liking to each other. They would spend hours on end throughout the day talking on the phone, excited to get to know o0ne another. Bertilia is beautiful, strong, and straight to the point and this is what attracted Howard most. That and the fact that even though she was college-educated, she never looked down upon Howard or ridiculed him because he wasn’t. They shared a strong mutual bond of love and respect for each other.

As time went on, the two fell in love and married on July 17, 2004. The couple then had their bundle of joy, their now 16-year-old son Kynai in January of 2005; life couldn’t have been more beautiful. Howard had his loving wife by his side and now a son. Howard was such a kind and loving father. The day his son was born, he called everyone to let them know his beautiful baby boy had arrived. He loved his son Kynai and from the moment he watched his son be born, this set the groundwork for a strong bond between father and son. Howard wanted to give his son the best things that life could offer, but also to instill in him to be intentional about his education. Howard loved handiwork, but worked hard to become successful; Howard and Bertilia both wanted their son to get an education so that he could be prepared for the best opportunities in life. Though Howard didn’t go to college, he appreciated that Bertilia had and admired her for it. He always told his son to look at how enthused and intrigued his mother was with her schoolwork; he wanted Kynai to know that getting an education could benefit him in life and his mother Bertilia was a shining example. Bertilia pointed out to Kynai that his dad was a good father and great provider; she told her son to look up to Howard’s example as to how a responsible man should be.

Though he is gone, Howard’s legacy as a great husband and father continues to live on. He loved his wife Bertilia and helped her while she furthered her education, even giving her the freedom to be able to decide if she’d like to work or not. He was a supportive man and a great provider. Howard and Bertilia had a special kind of love; if the two had a disagreement, Howard in his playfulness would come and cheer his wife up, making sure they didn’t go to bed upset at one another. Their love as husband and wife provided a loving environment for their son to thrive in.

Howard loved his son Kynai and had what seemed like a thousand different nicknames for him. Howard, Bertilia, and Kynai were inseparable. The three always spent time together, even during simple outings to the store. Their family unit was beautiful and the memories they shared as a family are what I pray will help to carry Bertilia and Kynai through the waves of this terrible loss.

Howard is preceded in death by his father, Gregory Remy; he is survived by his stepfather and mother, Lucia and Lucius Swanson in Houston, Texas; his lovely wife, Bertilia St. Brice-Remy; his only son, Kynai Remy; his five brothers: Brent and Jermaine in St. Lucia; Kevin and Justin in Arizona; and Nigel in St. Croix; his four sisters: Clarendia, Curlin, and Lesia in Houston, Texas; and Ayanna in Arizona. He is survived by his favorite aunt on his father’s side, Ursula in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as his favorite aunt on his mother’s side, whose name favors his wife’s name, Bertille in St. John; Howard also leaves behind his best friend Glorian Yarde; Howard was very much loved by his in-laws:Ozaki, Sylvester, and Nathan in California; Daniel in Marrero, Louisiana; Dionysia, Christina, Cecilia and Lucy in Houston, Texas; Elvira and Lesia in Baytown, Texas; and Annabella in Miami, Florida.. He is also survived by a host of loving cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.