Wayne "Wes" Sherman Memorial Bench Fund.

Hi My name is Brandi Pope. I am an Ordained Minister and the Wife of Joseph Gaston, owner of Lower Keys Marine; a small business offshore in Key West Florida. I am raising funds to help cover the costs relating to the sudden and untimely death of our dear friend and fellow liveaboard resident Wayne Sherman better known to his friends and fellow coworkers of Caroline's restaurant as Wes. Wes was a long time resident of the Key West Harbor Anchorage and a dedicated employee of Caroline's restaurant where he delivered food and gladly preformed any other tasks asked of him. When not working Wes enjoyed spending his free time with other locals at the VFW and fishing with friends. Wes had a large heart and always did whatever he could to help others including delivering medication and care packages to those in need during Covid. I know this because I was one of those people who came down with Covid and was quarantined to my vessel. Wes didn't think twice about coming to my aid as this was his nature. After losing both his vessels to Hurricane Ian his love for his fellow liveaboard residents was repaid by the coming together of Key west residents and Lower Keys Marine to insure he had another vessel to live in.

We are absolutely devastated by Wes's passing and are struggling with his passing after he drowned Christmas Eve during a small craft weather advisory. While we may never know exactly what happened that caused him to fall from his vessel and into the raging waters we will always remember him as the loving upbeat man he was and want to honor his memory by giving him the memorial service he deserves. We hope that you will find it in your hearts to help with a donation of any amount you can afford. Every dollar donated will help and will be used for the purposes of providing a way for Wes's unofficial offshore family and friends to connect and heal together while paying tribute to him, our loved one. While I wanted to, it seems I will not be donating my time and services as a Minister for a Funeral. There was next of kin and the family will not be allowing this. A Memorial service for Wes will be had along with a Memorial Bench installation which is in the works.. We are raising funds to help cover these costs.

Wes was a beloved liveaboard resident, a hard working and inspiring individual and he will be sorely missed. The exact costs will be ascertained once we are able to identify what type of service we feel Wes would have wanted after we reach out to other friends and if possible contact any living family member which at this point we are unaware of any. Some of the costs we can expect to encounter are those for a traditional funeral as well as services and events that precede the burial or cremation. In Kind services in lieu of donations are happily encouraged. If you would like to donate in other ways please reach out to Lower Keys Marine directly and I will be happy to discuss this with you. I will update exact needs as we find out more details. Thankyou for helping in anyway you can to give our friend the send off he would have wanted and deserves.

Sincerely,

Brandi Pope

Lower Keys Marine, LLC.