Unsung hero and philanthropist Zebedee Pitterson, 83, of Racecourse Street, died of natural causes at the Belize Health Care Partners at about 7:30 Tuesday morning, while doctors were trying to stabilize his blood pressure.
His wife Alvia Rose told the media that she took him to the hospital on Monday night, where he began to vomit and became weak. Throughout the night he was unable to sleep and by morning the Belizean icon had passed away.
Zebedee Pitterson was laid to rest yesterday at the Lord Ridge Cemetery after funeral services at the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Yarborough Road.
Mr. Zeb, or Mr. Pitterson, as he was popularly known, lived by strict principles and his mantra was “right is right and wrong is wrong.” He was a man who lived by the principles of the Bible in which he was well-versed. He would regularly call the radio shows in the morning, and offer Bible verses for people to heed.
He was the owner and founder of the successful Sonny and Tan Bakery, which he began to operate in 1959, with $68. In an interview with Amandala in 2008, Pitterson said that the name “Sonny and Tan” was an acknowledgment of a former employer and a generous Chinese man named Tan, who had rented him the saloon and offered him assistance to open the bakery. Pitterson refused the offer, but in recognition of his kindness, he incorporated Tan’s name in the name of the business.
Mr. Zeb will always be remembered as a stalwart of the people who protected them from arbitrary increases in the price of bread. On one occasion the Belize Bakers Association had decided to raise the price of bread from $1 to $1.50, but Mr. Zeb was adamantly opposed to the raise, saying the people could not afford the increase. Some of the bakers raised the price of their product to $1.25, but Pitterson held his product at $1 in solidarity with the people. He would hold the price of his bread at $1 for years, until he could no longer do so, at the same time donating 100 loaves of bread two times per week to feed people at the Salvation Army shelters. He was also feeding about 100 primary school students and needy elderly people three times per week. He also fed children of the neighboring primary schools through his Feed My Sheep Feeding Program, a feeding program he funded out of his own pocket.
Mr. Pitterson was awarded the Unsung Hero Award by the First Caribbean International Bank in October of 2008, and as a part of the prize, he received $12,000 to help with the expenses of his community work. Mr. Zeb said that he was happy that his program was recognized nationally, and promised that he would spend every penny to feed the children in the feeding program. He was also given a Meritorious Service Award by the Government of Belize in 2008, followed by the Spirit of Ubuntu Award presented by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
Kremandala extends its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the Belizean icon, Zebedee Pitterson. He was truly a man for others.