FALMOUTH, Trelawny — PROCEEDS from the sale of Sugar Boy, a book based on the life of agriculturist and politician Cedric Titus, will go towards the literacy project at the Cedric Titus High School, his siblings said at Saturday’s Trelawny launch of the book.

The co-educational institution in Clarks Town, which lies in close proximity to the vast Long Pond Estate, was built and named in honour of Titus, almost seven years after his untimely death in a bizarre motor vehicle accident in the parish.

Principal of the school Elette Fletcher expressed gratitude to the Tituses, noting that over the past three years members of the family have been playing an integral part in the operations of the institution.

“The family members are making a generous input in the lives of our students and by extension the staff. They have been contributing to the improvement of library; they have sponsored a retired teacher who specialises in reading; they have been giving scholarships to students who have done well in their CXC exams and they have also contributed utensils to the school,” said Fletcher.

In commending the family for writing the book, Fletcher argued that its contents will enable students to learn more about the outstanding cane farmer.

Titus, a former government Senator and the People’s National Party (PNP) councillor for the Wakefield Division, died in a motor vehicle accident along the Bounty Hall to Falmouth main road in Trelawny on March 24, 1969. He was 54.

Titus was also the caretaker for the constituency of Northern Trelawny and chairman of the Jamaica Cane Farmers Association and the Jamaica Agricultural Society.

But it was his hard work in the sugar cane industry that he was best known for, thus earning him the name ‘Sugar Boy’.

“The book is a personal insight into his life as a politician, farmer, family man and social outreach, through the eyes of his widow, Amy and myself,” his daughter Faye Beaufort told the large gathering on Saturday.

Titus’ longtime friend, former minister of agriculture Desmond Leaky, said Titus made tremendous sacrifices in an effort to improve the working conditions of the small farmers.

“His (Titus) memories will live on with us and we certainly are indebted to the Titus family for making sure that his legacy, his dreams, his humanity will not be forgotten,” said Leaky.

The book was first launched in Ottawa, Canada in March and had its first launch on Jamaican soil in Kingston last week Tuesday. It is scheduled to be released in the US today.