Anthony Leroy Wallace, also known as Keith or Keithieman, was eulogised as being a devoted father and a loving husband, a nation-builder, a good police officer, a man who loved his cricket and his family dearly.

The 64-year-old passed away on September 29, 2016 and was interred at Oxford Cemetery following a thanksgiving service at Comfort Hall Church of God of Prophecy on Saturday, October 22, 2016 in Comfort Hall, Manchester.

He was always known for his favourite pharses, “Mi a behave miself” and “Have manners to God,” which most thought was partly from the impact of growing up with his grandmother.

Church was an essential part in his life and in 2012 he gave his life to God. Since then, he maintained a devout Christian life and was a spirited worshipper.

Corporal Patricia Jackson, Wallace’s former co-worker at the Mandeville Police Station, remembered him as a good policeman who was fun-loving and would always look out for his colleagues. She recalled how they met and commented that she was confident that his guidance and personality made the job easier. She added: “He respected his job and was a no-nonsense police officer. He will surely be missed.”

She added: “When on duty in Mandeville, he would always ask, ‘What you drinking?.’”

Glynis Wallace, his sister-in-law who read a remembrance written by Wallace’s mother, Pearleta Wallace, said he was a helpful, useful, attentive, and concerned son.

The story was told that at age four, she remembered that Wallace took the baby’s clothes off the line. When asked how he took them off he said he used a piece of stick to knock them off the wire, such was the helpfulness of the youngster.

“He was so respectful that at the age of 14 he did something wrong and I told him to take off his belt, knowing I would beat him. And he still took it off and gave it to me,” Glynis Wallace read of the deceased’s mother’s account.

“When he started working at the Jamaica Constabulary Force he would be the first to give me my bun and cheese at Eastertime. Even when he was sick and called me he would say, ‘Mi sick but God a God,’” the tribute continued.

Anthony Wallace was born on December 26, 1951 to parents Pearleta and Clive Wallace in Rose Valley, Manchester. He grew up in Comfort Hall with his grandmother and went to the Comfort Hall All-Age School where he was an active student and vibrant learner.

After leaving school, his father took him and his brother to learn tailoring in Balaclava, but that wasn’t his passion so he went on to do work as a mechanic in Mile Gully. The sky was the limit for Anthony and in 1970 he joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force and served at Mandeville, Mile Gully and Kendal police stations in Manchester, and also the Harman Barracks in Kingston.

He died leaving mother Pearleta, widow Cynthia, 13 children, two sisters, five brothers, grandchildren, and a host of other relatives and friends.