BELIZE CITY, Sat. May 2, 2020– Athelstan Isidro Sanchez, 91, a retired regimental sergeant major (RSM) Warrant Officer Class 1, of the now defunct Belize Volunteer Guards, was laid to rest this morning at the Lord Ridge Cemetery. He died after a bout of illness at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital on Thursday, April 29.
A squad of soldiers from the Belize Defence Force B Company Volunteers acted as escorts and pall bearers, and he was given a mini-military funeral due to the restrictions that are in place to combat COVID-19, which prevented the full military honors due to the fallen sergeant major.
The escorts took his flag-draped coffin from the morgue and escorted him in a hearse to the cemetery. His remains were taken to the grave site and after some words of blessings, Sanchez was entombed. The burial was conducted at about 10:00 this morning.
Sanchez’s caretaker, Lavern Olivera, who lives just across the street from his house on Lizarraga Avenue, told us that she was appointed by his family to take care of him, and that she knew him for over 40 years, and he was well-liked in the neighborhood Olivera said that he had a good relationship with his family and they were always communicating with him. His daughters would always call and check on him from the USA, and they would also seek information from her about his well-being.
She said that on Sunday, he had come out of his house, and police on patrol in the area took him back upstairs, but he was upset and he locked his door.
Olivera said that she tried to call him on Monday, but he did not answer, and that on Tuesday, a woman came to her with some food for him, and she took the food to him, but when she called, he gave a low answer.
On Wednesday, his daughter called him, but he was not answering, and so she called Olivera and requested that she check on him. Olivera and her daughters went to the house and began to call out for him, but there was no answer.
Olivera then called police, who made an entry into the house with his ladder, and they saw him lying on the floor.
Olivera’s neighbor, Orlando Pelayo, forced the door open, and Sanchez was brought down unconscious, and taken away in an ambulance, and shortly after, word came back that he had passed. There was sadness in the neighborhood at his death.
RSM Sanchez was the highest ranking enlisted soldier of the Belize Volunteer Guards, and he was well-respected for his sternness. His friend and neighbor told us that up to the time of his death, his eyesight was still strong, and he was still able to read small lettering and that he was still in command of his faculties.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and his eldest son, Mark Anthony Sanchez, better known as “Over,” a retired staff sergeant of the Belize Defence Force. He was also preceded in death by 4 brothers and 5 sisters.
He is survived his daughters Paulette Pratt Sanchez, Laureta Smith Sanchez, Athelstan Sanchez, Jr. (Retired US Navy Officer), Petronella “Nellie” Blanco Sanchez, and Jocelyn Plowey Sanchez.
He is also survived by 16 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. He was born on December 14, 1928 and passed on April 29, 2020.
Feature photo: Athelstan Sanchez RSM