ianstone
09-05-2010, 03:19 PM
Federal agent slain in Haiti remembered as brave man
Sunrise resident was slain during robbery on vacation
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/photo/2010-09/55981884.jpg Viola Zucker clutches a red rose in one hand and an American flag in the other as she approaches the casket of her son, Gregoire-Ronald Chery, 56, who was shot to death in Haiti while visiting family. Chery, who lived in Sunrise, was a fraud investigator with the Department of Homeland Security. (MARK RANDALL, Sun Sentinel / September 3, 2010)
A federal fraud investigator from Sunrise, gunned down while on a vacation in Haiti (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/intl/haiti/port-au-prince-%28haiti%29-PLGEO000001951608.topic), was eulogized as a brave and dedicated public servant Saturday in a memorial service overflowing with emotion and draped in ceremony.
Gregoire-Ronald Chery, 56, was described as "a man who lived his life with no fear" by Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Mayorkas was one of the eulogists who addressed several hundred mourners during a two-hour memorial service in St. James Catholic Church in North Miami (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/us/florida/miami-dade-county/north-miami-PLGEO100100408180000.topic).
"He never shied away from anything," said Mayorkas as a uniformed honor guard flanked Chery's casket. "He was a pacifist, a peacemaker. And he left this earth the same way he lived his life, putting others before himself."
Chery, a federal employee of more than 22 years, most recently with the Department of Homeland Security (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/unrest-conflicts-war/defense/u.s.-department-of-homeland-security-ORGOV0000136.topic), was killed Aug. 27 outside a relative's home in the hills above Port-au-Prince during what family members said was a robbery and abduction.
According to Ula Zucker, Chery's sister, armed men broke into the home and forced a cousin, Nadege Charlot, 16, to leave with them after they shot Chery. Charlot was released on Wednesday after relatives paid a ransom of $3,000, Zucker said.
"I am elated she was released," said Zucker, events and media coordinator for the city of Miami Gardens. "But my brother is dead."
Zucker said she had urged her brother not to travel to Haiti, struggling to recover from the Jan. 12 earthquake (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/disasters-accidents/earthquakes/haiti-earthquake-%282010%29-EVHST0000230.topic), warning that he could be targeted by thugs. "When they see Americans, they expect they have money and valuables," he said.
But Viola Zucker, their mother, wanted to check on property she owns there, and her brother wanted to accompany her, Zucker said.
Born in Jeremie, Chery moved to New York with his family in 1965, and to Miami in 1977. He began working for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1988.
Zucker said her brother recently bought a third-floor condominimum in Sunrise and was looking forward to retirement in three years.
In his eulogy, Monsignor Jean Pierre, pastor of St. James, said, "The best way to remember this man is by loving every day."
In addition to Zucker and his mother, Chery leaves a son, Gregoire Ronald Chery III; two daughters, Bianca and Cassandra Chery; and several brothers and sisters.
Chery was buried in Forest Lawn Memeorial Gardens South in Davie.
Mike Clary can be reached at mclary@sunsentinel.com or at 305-810-5007.
Sunrise resident was slain during robbery on vacation
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/photo/2010-09/55981884.jpg Viola Zucker clutches a red rose in one hand and an American flag in the other as she approaches the casket of her son, Gregoire-Ronald Chery, 56, who was shot to death in Haiti while visiting family. Chery, who lived in Sunrise, was a fraud investigator with the Department of Homeland Security. (MARK RANDALL, Sun Sentinel / September 3, 2010)
A federal fraud investigator from Sunrise, gunned down while on a vacation in Haiti (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/intl/haiti/port-au-prince-%28haiti%29-PLGEO000001951608.topic), was eulogized as a brave and dedicated public servant Saturday in a memorial service overflowing with emotion and draped in ceremony.
Gregoire-Ronald Chery, 56, was described as "a man who lived his life with no fear" by Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Mayorkas was one of the eulogists who addressed several hundred mourners during a two-hour memorial service in St. James Catholic Church in North Miami (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/us/florida/miami-dade-county/north-miami-PLGEO100100408180000.topic).
"He never shied away from anything," said Mayorkas as a uniformed honor guard flanked Chery's casket. "He was a pacifist, a peacemaker. And he left this earth the same way he lived his life, putting others before himself."
Chery, a federal employee of more than 22 years, most recently with the Department of Homeland Security (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/unrest-conflicts-war/defense/u.s.-department-of-homeland-security-ORGOV0000136.topic), was killed Aug. 27 outside a relative's home in the hills above Port-au-Prince during what family members said was a robbery and abduction.
According to Ula Zucker, Chery's sister, armed men broke into the home and forced a cousin, Nadege Charlot, 16, to leave with them after they shot Chery. Charlot was released on Wednesday after relatives paid a ransom of $3,000, Zucker said.
"I am elated she was released," said Zucker, events and media coordinator for the city of Miami Gardens. "But my brother is dead."
Zucker said she had urged her brother not to travel to Haiti, struggling to recover from the Jan. 12 earthquake (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/disasters-accidents/earthquakes/haiti-earthquake-%282010%29-EVHST0000230.topic), warning that he could be targeted by thugs. "When they see Americans, they expect they have money and valuables," he said.
But Viola Zucker, their mother, wanted to check on property she owns there, and her brother wanted to accompany her, Zucker said.
Born in Jeremie, Chery moved to New York with his family in 1965, and to Miami in 1977. He began working for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1988.
Zucker said her brother recently bought a third-floor condominimum in Sunrise and was looking forward to retirement in three years.
In his eulogy, Monsignor Jean Pierre, pastor of St. James, said, "The best way to remember this man is by loving every day."
In addition to Zucker and his mother, Chery leaves a son, Gregoire Ronald Chery III; two daughters, Bianca and Cassandra Chery; and several brothers and sisters.
Chery was buried in Forest Lawn Memeorial Gardens South in Davie.
Mike Clary can be reached at mclary@sunsentinel.com or at 305-810-5007.