Ziggy Soul's wife opens up about relationship ahead of funeral on Saturday

Kimberley Small, Staff Reporter

On Saturday, January 11, reggae singer and songwriter Ziggy Soul will be laid to rest.

The dedicated missionary, who spent a great part of his adult life in the annals of Trench Town in Kingston working with community youth, passed away in late December 2019.

It was reported that Ziggy Soul succumbed after battling numerous complications from diabetes, hypertension, and kidney problems.

His widow, Marlene Beckford, was content to share the excitement of their acquaintance – which came about because of their mutual philanthropic pursuits.

"He used to run a little reading centre down on First Street, which still exists. I wanted to know how he got funds for that reading centre," she told The Gleaner.

At the time, she was the chairman of Church and Urban Renewal Enterprise (CURE), a ministry out of Rose Town, Kingston.

"That's why I left him my number – and he kept calling me. Then I found out that he had a great anointing. So I said, we should pray together, and little by little – God said I should be there for [him]. Then Ziggy said, you can't be there for me if you don't marry me," she laughed.

She continued: "He never had no big job. Him never have no family. Before, I was a general manager for a merchant bank. I have an MBA from the University of the West Indies. There's no way me and him did blend. But God. I left, I went to the States. I came back, I got married to him." June 20 would have been their 20th anniversary.

Though his wife lived in the United States, Ziggy had little interest in leaving Trench Town "because of the work that he did. But then he got very sick, and I wasn't able to get him up in time," she said.

Ziggy Soul's funeral will take place at Covenant Community Church in Joy Town at 1:00 p.m.

Tommy Cowan will be the master of ceremonies, Pastor Junior Tucker will lead praise and worship, and Carlene Davis will perform God Is Light, written by Ziggy Soul for her latest album, The Assignment.

There will also be tributes by Judy Mowatt, Shamer 'Den Den' Samuels, Deborah Folkes and Culture Yard.

Interment will be at May Pen Cemetery, Spanish Town Road.

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