Late this evening, Amandala visited the family at their home, located on the same premises as their business on Freetown Road, where we spoke with a brother, David Coye.

According to David, it was in late July of 2004 that Joseph was diagnosed with the deadly disease.

(Cancer of the throat involves malignant tumors (growth) on the vocal cords, voice box or other areas of the throat.)

In September of last year, he underwent surgery to remove a tumor that had caused his throat to swell. But before he could begin chemotherapy, doctors in California told him that they were unable to remove the entire tumor.

Ninety percent of the tumor was removed during the operation, but before the chemotherapy began, Joseph learned that the cancer had spread throughout his body. Doctors gave him only 6-8 weeks to live, but Joseph, who displayed strength and showed that he was a fighter, did prolong life for a while. But it came to an end on Christmas Day.

Yesterday, Wednesday, his body was flown into Belize, and today, some relatives from abroad returned home to lay him to rest with other family members here.

Joseph was a well-known footballer who was a member of the Mat Striker Football Team back in the 1970?s.

He is the brother of well-known footballers Glen ?Tang? Coye and Phillip ?Ripper? Coye, who also played with teams such as Charger, White Label, Green Stripe, BelPrint, BEC and ASC.

In 1978, Joseph gave up playing football, and a year later he migrated to the United States. He lived in New York for 15 years and later moved to South Central California, where he lived for about 10 years. He worked closely with a brother, doing carpentry until the time of his death.

Joseph Coye and his six other brothers all continued the family tradition of carpentry, as their father, the late Felipe Coye, was a carpenter too, David said.

After the death of their father in 1983, the Coye brothers continued his coffin-making business, which he began while working in the mahogany and chicle camps many decades ago.

It was a trade Joseph continued even after he left Belize, the brother said.

As a boy, Joseph Coye attended St. Joseph School in Belize City. He was a graduate of Wesley College.

The late Joseph Allan Coye had no children and was never married.

He is survived by his mother, Elswith Coye; brothers – Robert, Gerald, Glen, David, Richard and Phillip Coye; and sisters – Thora Day and Myrtle Chanona.