Sylvan Claude

Emanuel

OBITUARY

Sylvan Claude Emanuel was born in Kingston Jamaica on April 24th, 1954, to parents Doris Campbell and Reuben Emanuel. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle and brother. As a young man, Sylvan attended Providence Primary School and Papine Secondary School. He later received a scholarship to continue his studies and play cricket at Kingston College. He was anxious to start his career, and as a result he left Kingston college early to enroll in Trade School where he acquired a trade in Welding.  Sylvan was the apple of his mother's eyes. Every summer she would send him off to her sister Gladys in Clarendon to spend time with his cousins. Sylvan loved the country, where he enjoyed doing fun things with his cousins. Franklyn, his older cousin, was like a big brother to him. Headley, his younger cousin, taught him how to milk the cows, dig yams and sweet potatoes. He also taught him how to pick fruits on their father's farm. Sylvan was so fascinated with all these fun things that he decided that he would have his own farm when he grows up.

Sylvan was a privileged kid. He was dearly loved by his parents and all his family, yes spoiled. He was a charmer. He would charm his parents with smiles that would get him anything he wanted. His favorite past-time was playing Cricket, one of the best-known sports in West Indian history. He was a member of the Papine Expo United Youth Club and as a Cricketer he was a great fan of the famous West Indian Cricketer, Rohan Kanhai. Because of his admiration for the superstar, his friends coined the nickname "Khani" during his years of playing cricket in Jamaica. He spent many hours debating the merit of the game. He enjoyed the simple pleasures in life, including spending time with friends and family. He was an avid sports enthusiast, especially for the game of cricket, he always kept up on all the matches and never missed a chance to root for Jamaica in the Olympics.  If he could play cricket 24/7, he would have done so without any remorse.

After his studies, he started working with The Jamaica Telephone company otherwise known as Cable and Wireless, where he was employed for 18 years. During his tenure at Cable and Wireless he pursued further training at University of Technology (U-Tech) in Cable Splicing and Telecommunications Engineering. He was a jack of all trades and he taught himself most of the skills he knew. He was a plumber, an electrician and a construction worker.  If he didn't know it, he wasn't afraid to ask, and he picked up skills very easily.

During his tenure at Cable and Wireless, he met and fell in love with his sweetheart Mable Lee Spence. Their union of 40 years produced three beautiful children, Sheldon, Christopher and Britanni.  He also had two wonderful daughters before his marriage, namely Mickelle and Natalie.  As a result of his union with his wife he accepted the Seventh Day Adventist message shortly after.  Most of his friends gave him three weeks for him to leave the church.  But he was so in love with the woman God gave him (as he prayed and asked God for a Christian wife), that he continued in his Christian walk.  He served in the New Haven S.D.A. church as a deacon for several years until he migrated to the United States in 2001. While here he attended various SDA churches until he and his family settled at The Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries as a faithful member.  He worked in various construction jobs, but for the past eight years he has been working as a Superintendent for two apartment buildings in the Bronx and Mount Vernon. He was loved by all his clients and was affectionately referred to as "Super".

Sylvan transitioned from this life on February 24, 2023, at his home in Mount Vernon, New York after succumbing to his battle with prostate cancer.  Despite the challenges of his sickness, he showed courage and fortitude. He was focused on his relationship with God and his family. At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by his loved ones just the way he wanted it. He is survived by his beautiful wife Mable of 40 years, 5 children: Mickelle, Natalie, Sheldon, Christopher and Britanni; 14 grandchildren; his big brother Mackenzie, one sister Lornette, a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, church families and many friends and well-wishers.

May his soul rest in peace