BELIZE CITY, Mon. Nov. 4, 2019– Compton Fairweather, a legendary Belizean hero who has contributed immeasurably to Belize’s development in the area of the history of the Guatemalan claim, and who single-handedly kept Belizeans in the diaspora informed with the news from Belize for decades before the internet came onstream, died early this morning at the Belize Medical Associates. He was 88.

Jeri Leslie-Fairweather, Compton Fairweather’s wife, told Amandala that her husband passed away after a brief illness. The cause of death was pneumonia, Fairweather said.
In the New York area, Fairweather was well-known in the Belizean community, and he was instrumental in the work of the New York Freedom Committee, which raised money for various politically related causes.

Fairweather, a quiet, soft-spoken man, was fiercely nationalistic and lived his life contributing to Belize from his own earnings.

His longtime friend, Henry Young, a former UDP politician and Minister of Government, told Amandala this evening that he ranks Fairweather right up there with national heroes George Price and Philip Goldson.

“Fairweather was a real man,” Young said, “whose life was devoted to the cause of Belize.”
When there were talks involving Guatemala, Fairweather made sure that George Price was kept under surveillance, Young said.

Fairweather’s knowledge of the Guatemalan claim to Belize and the negotiations over the years was encyclopedic, and during the period leading up to the referendum on whether to submit the claim to the International Court of Justice, his contribution to that process was outstanding.

Using his intimate knowledge of the history of the Guatemalan claim, Fairweather would often write compellingly in the Amandala. The newspaper articles he penned were always insightful and loaded with historical facts and the names of key players involved in the process.

Fairweather’s wife promised Amandala that she would provide us a more detailed picture of her husband and the work he did on behalf of Belize for our Friday edition.

Compton Fairweather leaves to mourn his passing, his wife Jeri Leslie-Fairweather, one daughter, Camella Fairweather, one grandson and many other relatives and friends too numerous to mention.

The Kremandala family extends our heartfelt condolences to the Fairweather family on the loss of the iconic Compton Fairweather.