Raphael S. Antoine

Thoughtful, Creative, Family Oriented and Fun Loving are some of the words that can be used to describe Raphael Sylvester Antoine also known as “Raphy”. He was born to Hyacinth and Emmanuel Antoine in Charlestown on the island of Nevis in 1977. Prior to his birth, his parents were making the transition to move their family to the United States Virgin Islands in pursuit of the American Dream. Consequently, shortly after his birth he moved to the Virgin Islands with his parents. He was the youngest of seven children: Stedman, Maria (deceased), John, Bernadette, Catherine, Michael but he would go on to create a path of his own. Having been raised by hard-working, blue-collar parents who instilled the value of self-sufficiency and independence in all of their children, his life would be filled with ups and downs but all in the pursuit of realizing said values in his own life. It was in St. Thomas, Raphy received his primary, junior high and High School Education from Jane E. Tuitt Elementary School, Addelita Cancryn Junior High School and Charlotte Amalie High School (CAHS), consecutively. During his formative years, he pursued many different activities in order to boost his College Application. Yes, he had a plan. This meant that he was involved in the Church Choir, Church Youth Group, and High School Club’s including Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Student Government, and an active student on the Accounting Tract at Chartlotte Amalie High School. Upon graduation from CAHS in the Class of 1996, he attended the University of the Virgin Islands in pursuit of the Bachelors of Arts in Accounting. His dream chasing took him to Orlando, Florida to continue his education and pursuit of becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). To this end, he graduated from Strayer University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and worked hard from then on to become a prominent figure in the Accounting & Tax Preparation scene in Orlando. Despite his career endeavors he remained Raphy to his family. He was our Brother, Uncle, Cousin, Nephew and friend. Yes, he was loud, often unapologetically so and direct at the most inconvenient times but he always made fast friends wherever he went because he looked out for the needs and interest of friends that he made. We have memories of family males wanting to party with him because he always had the pretty looking girls hanging with him. He always thought he was the best cook in the family and he may have been but no one ever admitted to this defeat. Who loved a good time more than him? Whenever Carnival came around and his health allowed him, he was there. If a Caribbean Jam was going on and he could make it, he was there. Over the years, his health would seriously affect how and when he did things but he did his utmost to keep things as “normal” as possible. These last few years were not easy ones but he kept going. He kept working and he traveled even in his disabled state. Sickness simply could not hold him down. As is the case for every family, there have been ups and downs but despite those ups and downs, love remained. His family, we would like to thank all of is Friends, Classmates, Colleagues and Client’s for their expressions of condolences and we thank you for joining us today in Celebration of his life. Isaiah 26: 19 points to a time when we can see our dead loved ones again during the resurrection and it is this faithful promise that we are holding close to heart during this time. We will await the time when death, our enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), is no more and we can enjoy his company once again (Psalms 37:29). In the meantime, he will truly be missed!!

Raphael S. Antoine

June 4, 1977 - March 4, 2020