KINGSTON, Jamaica – A thanksgiving service for the late hornsman, Lester Sterling will be held at the Holy Cross Church in Half-Way-Tree Road, St Andrew on Tuesday.

A founding member of the famous Jamaican Ska band, the Skatalites, Sterling, who had not been in good health prior to his death, died in Florida in the United States on May 16 at the age of 87. He had urged family and friends to ensure that his body is flown back to Kingston to be buried.

READ: Skatalites’ Lester Sterling dies

His request was passed on to Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia “Babsy” Grange, who prior to his death had pledged to fulfill his wish. Grange said she admired Sterling’s love for his homeland and agreed to take on the challenge.

“In fact, by the time I heard that he had died, I had already put some things in place. His remains are already in Jamaica and we will have him interred here after the service,” she explained.

The thanksgiving service will be prefaced by the viewing set to begin at 9:30 am. Musical tributes will follow at 10:00am while the church service is expected to get underway at 10:30 am.

Interment will follow at Dovecot Cemetery in St Catherine.

A graduate of the famous Alpha Boys’ School in Kingston, Sterling, and is survived by another well known Jamaican musician brother, Keith Sterling. He was born on January 31, 1936. He developed into a highly rated trumpeter and eventually saxophonist who became a member of the Jamaica Military Band.

Sterling was a founding member of the Skatalites band and, after the Skatalites first broke up in 1965, he played with Byron Lee & the Dragonaires before rejoining the Skatalites. Among his top hits are; Bangarang; Rock Fort Rock; Guns of Navarone; Swing Easy and Ball of Fire.

– Balford Henry