BY KIMMO MATTHEWS

Observer staff reporter

matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com

FAMILY members of Rosalvo Patterson yesterday said that, moments before the elderly man passed away on Monday, he expressed his gratitude to the good Samaritans who gave him a chance to spend his last few months in comfort.

The ailing Patterson, who was blind, sparked national discussion about the treatment of the island’s poor seniors after his abject living conditions in Jericho, St Catherine, were featured in a front-page story in the Jamaica Observer edition of March 19.

Patterson had been living in a dilapidated fowl coop for five years and was only getting by through the kindness of neighbours.

On the day the story was published, music producer Wayne ‘Lonesome’ Brown rushed to his aid, paying for much-needed medical check-ups and building him a one-bedroom wooden house, complete with a bathroom and furniture. Other people also offered assistance.

Patterson eventually moved into his new house in April.

“He said it out of his own mouth that he was more than thankful for what Jamaicans did for him,” Eileen Patterson, his 80-year-old sister, told the Observer yesterday, noting that her brother passed away on the day he celebrated his 75th birthday.

“Before he died, he told us that he knew it was his time,” she continued.

She said when her brother woke up on Monday morning, his caregiver had promised to prepare him a “nice breakfast” in celebration of his birthday.

“The morning he woke up, the lady who was taking care of him told him that she was going to prepare something nice for his birthday.

“But he told her not to worry herself because he knew his time had come,” the sister shared.

“The last words he spoke were ‘Father I know my time is near. If you can, send your angels to help me on this journey’,” the sister said, while trying hard to suppress her emotions.

Yesterday, neighbours in the St Catherine-based community remembered Patterson as a jovial man, despite his challenges.

They said they were saddened by his death, but were comforted by the fact that, after spending half-a- decade in the rotting fowl coop, he enjoyed some amount of comfort during his final days.