Freddie Smith made an invaluable contribution to nation building

FORMER president of the Jamaica Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Association (JABBFA) Frederick Smith was last Friday remembered for his invaluable contribution towards nation building.

A thanksgiving service to celebrate the life of the man who represented and served Jamaica's Bodybuilding Sport for some 40 years was held at the Power of Faith Ministries, Portmore.

Smith, also called 'Smithie' or 'Freddie', died at the University Hospital on Thursday, June 10 at 11:00 pm after a three-year battle with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood. He was 67.

"He was a quiet yet determined and loving person. He was a father figure to all," said Carol Taylor, former vice- president of the JABBFA said.

According to Taylor it was because of Smith's contribution to bodybuilding why the sport has grown and will continue to grow.

Meanwhile Christopher 'Johnny' Daley, family friend encouraged all those who knew Smith to remain strong.

Suggestions from Daley were further supported by the minister, Petora Davis, who encouraged congregation to take heed that death was sure for all, as a result they should set their lives in order.

But it was perhaps a tribute by Sophia, daughter of Smith, that rang home for many.

"I remember daddy in a happy way, he meant everything and was everything to me," she said.

Judith Wilson, family friend, read from Corinthians 15:50 and spoke about her belief that persons like Smith who lived their lives in an exemplary fashion would be redeemed in Christ.

"What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." A section of the scripture read.

Smith served the sport for some 40 years, as a competitive bodybuilder in the 1970s and 1980s, building the Grecian ideal of the human physique, and as national coach and president of JABBFA.

He has been unofficial national coach since he stopped competing in 1987, and first became president from 1983 to 1985, and again for the past four years.

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