A “Fyne” Gentleman

A good man is hard to find but Daniel Fyne has proven to be one of the few.

Daniel Fyne poses for a picture at his St. Andrew residence in Kingston Jamaica.

Daniel Fyne is a father, a friend, confidant and a family man who remains humble and lives a simple life. Now at the age of sixty- three, Daniel has had many interesting life experiences and plans to have many more.

“I want to live until I am one hundred and ten” shared Daniel “so I can see many more things and get more knowledge”.

The sixty- three-year-old is a father of two girls and a doting husband despite the agreement between him and his wife to separate. However this does not hinder him from fulfilling an active role in the life of his wife and youngest daughter daily. He ensures to keep the lines of communication open by maintaining a healthy co- parenting relationship with his wife, Loretta Broadie Fyne who is the mother of his youngest daughter. He makes it his point of duty to spend time with them daily and ensures they have everything they need. He also makes an effort to stay connected with his older daughter and grandson by calling and visiting. Daniel also stays connected with his older sister Valery. She lives in the states and is his only remaining sibling after his older brother died recently. Daniel made it clear that family is one of his highest priorities. He described his youngest daughter and only remaining sibling Valery Higgs as the most important parts of his life.

Despite being such a good father and family man, Daniel did not grow up with any strong father figure. He was the youngest of six children for his mother Elizabeth Higgs. Unlike his five siblings Daniel did not share the last name Higgs as he was the only one of his siblings to have a different father. In addition to being the odd one out, Daniel barely knew his father. He only remembers a man who seldom sent money to assist with care of him and his half siblings, whose father did not contribute at all.

Apart from growing up with a single mother who had six mouths to feed, Daniel had to face other challenges. He was had to grow up in an area in which young men were predisposed to criminal behavior and was desperately poor. Growing up, he lived in a one-bedroom house with his mother and six siblings in the concrete jungles of Trench Town, Kingston Jamaica. His mother was a food vendor who tried her best to make ends meet. However she could barely manage to feed her children and Daniel even remembers being one of the few children at his school who had to go barefoot.

Daniel Fyne strolls through the hills of High Light View, St. Andrew his home town.

Besides the harsh reality of having a childhood full of struggles he still found a silver lining. Daniel expressed that despite where and how he grew up, there were still many good things about his childhood. He remembered getting to play and watch sports like football, table tennis and cricket because there was a sports field at Boys Town which was nearby. He also remembered the treat held at Christmas time which was a rare opportunity for children like him to receive gifts and sweets. He expressed that these were really the best of times and made his situation much more bearable.

He also recalled having some exceptionally memorable moments like being able to interact with the great Bob Marley even before he was the legend that we know him as today. Being the little brother of famous reggae artist Joe Higgs, he recalls seeing his brother transition into stardom and getting to see his brother teaching individuals like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer some tips to composing music. He remembered Bob Marley as a welder from West Street that dropped his trade for music and visited his yard often to practice music with his brother Joe. Daniel shared that “Bob was a welder enuh, but him stop do the welding and wa fi do music and the whole a them did inah Trench Town him, Bunny and Peter them come inah my yard all the while.”

Danielle reminisced on being able to witness some of the greatest moments in Jamaica’s history like our countries independence and the jubilant celebrations that took place.

“All the children get cups and flags including my sister but I was too small to get any” said Daniel.

He even remembered getting to see Haile Selassie when he visited Jamaica in 1966. Fyne even remembered Jamaican past prime ministers like Sir Donald Sangster and the most honorable Hugh Shearer who died while in office.

With draught board in hand, Daniel Fyne jogged across his front yard located in hills of High Light View St. Andrew, in Jamaica.

These days Mr. Fyne is happy to say that he is better off and content. He moved to Kingston in 1993 to pursue his trade. Today Daniel is a Mason who loves his trade, his family and is passionate about sports. He is an avid player of draughts and can be often be seen strolling with a draught board made by him, on his way to engage in lively matches with his colleagues. He also enjoys walking his daughter, who attends the University of Technology, home from school a routine that he has been doing since she was in basic school.

This easy going family man is notorious for his calm demeanor and is respected by the many individuals that he interacts with daily. His youngest niece, Kerry-ann Kelly described him saying, “He’s cool, him easy-going and no mek nothing bother him”. Though a good man can be hard to find like Kerry-Ann, many individuals agree that Danielle Fyne is indeed a fine gentleman.