Sydney Roy Barber Jr. was born on April 26, 1949 to Sydney Barber Sr. and Olive Barber nee Smith. He was the second of eight children. He was well known as Mr. Baba and to close friends and family members it was Pais or Baabs. Strangely enough though, his father registered him as being born April 22, 1949. He was one of the lucky individuals who celebrated two birthdays yearly. His birthday was not complete until he got his calls from the states which included his sister-in-law Maureen and his brother-in-law Peter. Ms. Kath, his mother-in-law, always made sure that she was the first one to wish him happy birthday, even if it meant that she woke him up at three in the morning. The family birthday dinner’s menu was always the same. Oven roasted turkey. He started off the New Year with it and ended it the same way on Christmas day. Virtually every holiday in between called for it. Birthdays, Father’s Day, Anniversaries, Thanksgiving and about 20 other times throughout the year, turkey was on the menu. Sometimes Melissa had to remind him that it was not April 26 so there will not be turkey on the menu today.
Whether he liked it or not, Sydney was a well travelled man from a very early age. Since his father was a policeman, Sydney attended primary schools in virtually all the districts. The one exception was Toledo. It was during his time in Orange Walk that he picked up a second language. Sydney spoke Spanish fluently. When his father eventually took up a permanent post in Belize City, #3 Alexandria Street became the Barber Family Home. During his primary school days in Belize City, he met his life-long friend Mr. Herbert Jerez. We are told that their common bond in those early days was mischief making and having fun. Mr. Herbert recollects that he used to initiate the mischief and then Sydney would get into trouble for it. His sisters recall that if he did something wrong and knew that he was going to get punished, he made sure that everyone else was punished as well even if they were not involved in his mischief making.
Once, he drank all of his mother’s juice that she used to take her medication and when she asked who drank it, he said “all of us did”. Everyone got punished along with him. Sydney loved sharing stories about his childhood days. Just recently during Hurricane Richard, he was telling his children about his experience with Hurricane Hattie. He said he used to go out and hustle everyday and take home the proceeds to his mother. He said at one time he was receiving rations from three different places until the authorities realized and put a stop to it. He loved his childhood and often told us that he has no regrets about any of it. That was just the way he was from a very young age. He was the most assertive man we knew. He attended SJC High School and upon leaving he decided to take on the family tradition and enrolled in the police force similarly like his father and grand-father.
On doing his rounds as a police officer, he saw a young woman and he became immediately smitten. He did some quick and savvy police investigative work and found out that her name was Olga McFadzean. He always commented to his fellow officers that he would marry her one day. On New Year’s Day 1970, he went to a horse race at National Stadium and he again saw Olga from afar. He finally built up enough courage and approached her, and fortunately for him, everything went smoothly. He took his last two dollars and they went out on their first date to the movies, and on the menu that night was pepitos. He was a man who came from very humble beginnings so all he could really offer her was his love and she gladly accepted.
They later married and had their first child Michelle in 1972, the first and only son Michael in 1980, and the third child Melissa in 1983. Sydney loved his children dearly. Sydney was a man who preferred to be his own boss, so he left the force after five years and started several small independent businesses. He started a taxi and tour business and was also a car dealer for a few years. This was how he became friends with Mr. Stephen Skeen. He often told us of the great times they had travelling the road bringing down vehicles from the states. He often spoke highly of Skeen and considered him to be one of his very good friends. These businesses all paid the bills, but he yearned for something more; therefore, he eventually settled into a new venture which really coincided with his love for children.
Transporting school children was essentially what he was well known for and it brought him much joy in life. He started a private taxi service that took kids to school at a very affordable rate. He even would give further discounts depending on the family’s economic situation. There were times where some families wanted to discontinue the service due to financial difficulties. However, Sydney would not allow this and he continued to transport the child to school free of cost to ensure that the child arrived to and from school safely.
From this point on, he devoted his life to serving and helping others. He did this for over 25 years. He considered the kids as his own as he often gave them treats monthly as their reward for their good behavior in the bus. As you can imagine, the bus would be chaotic at times with 15 plus screaming children playing and having fun. There were some children that he transported from the time they started pre-school to when they finished high school and when they had kids of their own, Sydney would be asked to continue the service with their children. He truly loved his job because he loved children. He developed a special bond group of children who referred to themselves as the Baba Crew.
He often would bake Johnny cakes and take breakfast for them in the morning or sometimes treated them to Moon Clusters in the evening after school. He transported from pre-school to high school. He attended their graduation from high school and sixth form although by the time they were in sixth form he was no longer transporting them. They always remembered his birthday and would come over and surprise him with a present. That really meant a lot to him. Sydney loved to cook and was very generous. He loved to take care of the less fortunate and would often donate school supplies to many needy families. It was his own personal gesture and did not seek any public recognition for it.
The charity work he loved most of all was taking care of someone. He often cooked for them as well and did the small things that would make their life a bit easier. Sometimes his children would complain about having to go and deliver the food on their bicycle when they were younger or they would complain about what was on the menu since he would cook whatever the person he was helping wanted to eat on that day even if it was something that his own children did not fancy.
He was a loyal supporter of the United Democratic Party. He often spoke highly of Dean and actively campaigned for him in the Queen’s Square division for many years even after he moved into another constituency. Queen’s Square was still dear to his heart. He developed a special bond with his fellow committee members, especially Ms. Daisy Robateau, Belle Fernandez, and Sarita Stamp. Even up to his final days, he spoke to them daily to see how they were doing. I know that like us they will miss him dearly.
Sydney loved watching Westerns. The Western Channel was essentially the only channel he watched. His favourite movie of all time was ‘Once Upon a Time in the West”. He often told us that he must have watched that movie over a hundred times. A few months ago we actually sat as a family and watched it with him as he told us about the parts that he really liked. We all really had fun that day. We can now look back at this and know that God was preparing Sydney for his journey back home. We are thankful that we have this special memory to hold on to and cherish in our hearts.
Sydney loved all children. He had an even greater love for his own children. But we do not think that anything can compare with the love he had for his grandson Little Mike or lovie dovie and Stinkyman as he was affectionately called by him. Lil Mike came into his life on March 20, 2006. This was truly a blessing from God. This was love that no person could have come between. Little Mike could absolutely do no wrong in his Grampy’s eyes. We can only presume that he saw a bit of himself in his grandson as Lil Mike can be a bit mischievous at times. We often credit Little Mike with saving and extending his Grampy’s life as he provided him with an added incentive to continue on as he courageously battled with Diabetes and Hypertension.
He began this fight in 1979. Sydney retired from his profession in 2008 due to health reasons and devoted all his time to his family, spending time with Lil Mike and socializing with friends at the Vernon Street Fish Market. Often he would come home and talk about Herbert, Eric, Bo, Orton, Dale and his other friends from the market. Even when he was in the states he would call the fish market and ask about his friends; wanting to know who came in and the types of fish they brought. This gave him much joy in life. The Good Lord once again bestowed his blessing upon Sydney and the family when his second grandson Bryson came into his life on August 12, 2010. Sydney was overjoyed. H loved both his grandkids dearly and was the happiest when the family came over to spend the weekend with him. He also looked forward to his nightly calls from his sisters Anna and Karen giving each other updates about their day.
The Barber family happily recollects the final days we spent with him. We are forever thankful to the Good Lord for that. He meant the world to us and he was everything to us. He was, by definition, the Rock of our family. He was the most assertive man we knew and was our protector and provider. He meant the world to us and we love him.
Sydney’s health took a turn for the worse on December 22 and again he fought courageously whilst admitted in the hospital. This was a shock to the entire family given that it was so unexpected and it happened so quickly. Concerned family members and friends rushed to be at his side given the short notice. We enjoyed the last family day with him on December 23 when we spent the entire day in his hospital room, not knowing that it was going to be the last. He even shed a few tears when his wife told him he got the whole clan out to the hospital. He got to speak with all is immediate family members and close friends. He called everyone from the hospital and told them that everything was going to be all right and he was going home soon. I guess that we should have read between the lines.
We were running jokes up to the very end and another good thing was that he also got to eat his favourite meal, turkey, since that was on the menu at the hospital that day. The Good Lord was truly in our presence that day. All Sydney ever spoke about in these last days was how much he loved his family, about getting better and about going home to spend Christmas with his family. We remember how we stressed that he wanted to get better and go home for Christmas. I guess the Good Lord heard his cry and granted his wishes. The Lord really and truly does work in mysterious ways. Acts Chapter 21, verse 14 “…Since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, ‘’The will of the Lord be done!” Sydney, Pais, Roy, Dad, Grampy…. We love you and always will.
You meant the world to us and still do. You were everything to us and still are. You cared for us, protected us, and provided for us. The lifetime of memories we shared will remain in our hearts forever. You were really the Rock of our family. We love you Sydney. We love you Pais. We love you Roy. We love you Dad. We love you Grampy.
Our family chain is broken
And nothing seems the same,
But as the Good Lord calls us one by one,
The chain will link again.
Sydney Barber Jr. resting peacefully in the arms of His Lord.
