The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE classmates, teachers and relatives of 16-year-old Anton Bowe gathered this weekend to bury the RM Bailey student whose sudden death from a lightning strike stunned the country earlier this month.

Anton was struck during a thunderstorm and taken to hospital by emergency medical services, but died from his injuries.

News of the incident spread rapidly on social media, prompting frightened parents to rush to RM Bailey to collect their children. Education officials closed the school early and made grief counselling available to students and staff.

At Anton's funeral at Bible Truth Ministries, those who had watched him grow up described a teenager whose exuberant personality contrasted with a deeply caring nature, particularly in the way he looked after the aunt who helped raise him.

Kevin Edgecombe, vice-principal of CH Reeves, gave a tearful account of Anton's life before RM Bailey, recalling a boy who became a familiar presence on the CH Reeves campus after losing his mother.

Anton was subsequently guided and cared for by his paternal aunt, Margarita Bowe, and maternal aunt, Cyanne Rahming, both teachers at CH Reeves. Mr Edgecombe credited their sacrifice and dedication with helping shape the teenager he became.

“To know Anton was to love him,” Mr Edgecombe said. “He had a personality that could fill an entire room, before he even spoke a word.”

Music and Junkanoo were among Anton's great passions. Mr Edgecombe recalled his infectious smile, unforgettable laughter and an energy that made his presence difficult to miss.

But he said another side of Anton was apparent in how he treated people who were struggling and, especially, in his devotion to his aunt Margarita.

“He became her hands and feet,” Mr Edgecombe said, “serving her needs not out of obligation, but a deep and genuine love.”

He described Anton as someone who loved dancing and bringing people together, respected his elders and readily helped others.

That same instinct made him something of a father figure among his classmates in 11R, according to Maya Reckley, who said his death had left a hole in their lives.

“Anton may be gone from our sight but he will never be gone from our hearts,” Ms Reckley said. “His kindness, his joy, his dancing, his way of making us feel like family that stays with us.”

She urged Anton's classmates to make his character, rather than only their grief, part of what they carried away from his death by treating others with greater kindness and checking on friends and relatives even when they appeared fine.

“Ton’s thank you for the life you’ve lived and the love you left behind,” she said. “We will miss you forever and we will always love you.”

Carmichael MP Keith Bell, an R M Bailey alumnus, said the loss was particularly painful for him. He offered condolences on behalf of Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Chester Cooper and himself, but said he was also there as a father and Christian.

“No parent or grandparent would ever want to go through something like this,” Mr Bell said.

He said he felt compelled to support a family and school community that had supported him.

Bible Truth pastor Ellison Greenslade also knew Anton as an active member of the church. He recalled regularly seeing the teenager pushing his aunt in her wheelchair and helping her around the church.

Pastor Greenslade connected the suddenness of Anton's death with another recent tragedy — the death of Corporal Steven Duncombe, whose motorcycle was struck by a vehicle while he was escorting a funeral on Prince Charles Drive on September 12.

Pastor Greenslade said he had attended the same funeral as Corporal Duncombe before the officer's death and invoked both tragedies as reminders of how abruptly life can end.

“It is shocking,” Pastor Greenslade said of Anton's death. “More than that at his young age, it is painful.”

He prayed for comfort and protection for the RM Bailey community and for “an overcoming spirit” to prevail on the campus.