Garry Alberto Brathwaite, 77, of Pembroke Pines passed away on Friday, March 17, 2017. He is survived by his wife Joan; and daughters, Valerie, Tammy, and Tiffany. A Tributes of a Lifetime Service will be held on Friday, March 24, 2017 at 6 p.m. at Boyd-Panciera Family Funeral Care, University Drive Chapel

Garry, as he preferred to be called, came into this world on May 8, 1939; he was the first of five sons resulting from the union of Leonora Young de Brathwaite and George Fletcher Brathwaite in the city of Colon, Republic of Panama

His entry into this world depended on the skills of a midwife as the young couple lived on a wooden tenement building with no central plumbing.

From an early age, he was closely associated with St. Joseph’s church in Colon, where he was instrumental in starting and fostering the first Cub Scout troop in the city. This close religious association led to a strong religious grounding and an initial desire by Garry to be a priest. The desire to be a priest changed once he savored life in the “Big Apple” in 1956. He enrolled in Franklin K Lane High School in Brooklyn, NY. From there, he graduated and enlisted in the United States Air Force after attending Queens College where he excelled as a track star.

Strong Spirituality, jolly resonant laughter, a captivating smile, desire to succeed and make a difference in the lives of others were noted characteristics of Garry as he returned from the Air Force and started his working career as a teletype operator at a Wall Street Firm, Loeb Rhodes and Co.,

He became enamored with Wall Street and Investment Banking, working in ever increasing levels of responsibly at several leading firms on Wall Street including Shearson Lehman Brothers and American Express, City Bank, Smith Barney. He retired from Smith Barney as a Managing Director and Research Analyst from Smith Barney after more than 30 years of working on Wall Street.

Concurrent with working on Wall Street, Garry embraced his passion for making a difference in the lives of the Brooklyn, NY’s low income community. As Co Chairman of Nehemiah Houses, Garry successfully agitated for the construction of attractive single family houses in blighted areas of Brownsville and East New York sections of Brooklyn NY. Key to the success of this program was persuading local churches to contribute more than $10 million in seed money to jump start the initiative.

Still pushing for economic opportunities, Garry was invited to be part of Brooklyn Economic Cooperative (BEC). This was a group of 41 churches, mosques and synagogues that came together to create a credit union, a commercial Bank and a recycling plant. Financing and employment opportunities were fundamental to the BEC redevelopment strategy for the community. Garry served as Chairman of the Audit Committee.

After Retirement, Garry moved to the Colony Point Condo Community in Pembroke Pines Florida. Garry continued his community involvement in Florida serving two consecutive terms as President of the Homeowners Association.

He is survived by his wife Joan Brathwaite; two brothers and two sisters, Jorge, Ernesto, Gisela and Olivia; three daughters, Valerie Ervin, Tammy and Tiffany Brathwaite; two grandsons, A J and Ellis Ervin; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

MAY ETERNAL REST GRANT UNTO HIM O LORD   ………   HE WILL CERTAINLY BE MISSED.