April 15 1976 November 12 2022
Obituary Jarritt Ahmed Sheel (Springfield, MA), husband, father, son, friend, musician, educator, renaissance man, lover of life, faithful servant of God. Jarritt was born on April 15, 1976 in Washington, DC, to Pamela Smith and Ahmed Mursal Sheel at Howard University Hospital. Shortly after birth, his mother returned to her hometown of Ft Lauderdale, FL, where she, along with her mother, Jarritt’s grandmother, Mary Elizabeth and a host of aunts, uncles and cousins helped to raise Jarritt. As a child, Jarritt was a very precarious little boy, always asking questions, tinkering and playing with his toys. He had a huge imagination and would spend hours entertaining himself, creating worlds and dreaming. He loved music, especially dancing in the living room with his mother and dog, Foxy. The sounds of Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind and Fire, and Shirley Caesar were the soundtrack of his youth and would inspire him to pursue music as a career. His favorite books and films were To Kill a Mockingbird and Field of Dreams. He loved words and found the poetry of Nikki Giovanni to be mesmerizing. Jarritt was intrigued by the themes of justice and love even then. At Faith Lutheran Church School and Dillard High, Jarritt had many friends from all backgrounds. He was often chosen for special projects including being chosen to work at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Science and Discovery. It was while in high school at Dillard that Jarritt picked up his trumpet for the first time. Under the direction of LeRoy “Daddy” Gibbs, he practiced and performed with intensity. He graduated in the top three of his class. He went on to Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, FL, where he excelled. He pledged and was an active member of the music fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi. He served as section leader and played trumpet in the famous “Marching 100” and was known for his musicianship and marching precision. He got the name Professor Honeydew because of his inquisitive nature, big thoughts and ability to problem solve. Life happened and Jarritt decided to take a break from his formal studies, but continued to play his horn in the Disney College Band Program where he met many life-long friends. Shortly thereafter, Jarritt returned to FAMU and completed his Bachelor of Science- Music in 2005. In 2006, he entered Northern Illinois’ Jazz Studies program. There, he worked as a TA and really began seeing himself as having the ability to teach college. It was also during this time that he met his then girlfriend, Antonia on the social media platform, Facebook. It all started with a “poke” and many back and forth love notes between the two. They courted for only four months before they were engaged. They graduated from their respective graduate programs in 2008 (Jarritt received an M.M. in Jazz Studies) and then married on April 18, 2009, in a beachside ceremony in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The newly married couple made Orlando, FL, their home and Jarritt began running the jazzband for Timbercreek and Ocoee High Schools, while also teaching as an adjunct professor at the then, Valencia Community College. There he also developed and launched the college’s first ever jazz camp, hosting students and accomplished musicians. He also worked tirelessly in the community to produce arts programming with the Central Florida Jazz Society, supported efforts for the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center, played in his church band, and ran his own band- the Blu-Trio/ Bionic Soul. Jarritt also created and hosted the Young Gunz Jazz showcase throughout the year. This musical event gave many young artists a chance to explore their talents and be introduced to the local community. He wrote for the notable jazzreview.com website and recorded and played trumpet for several local artists. Jarritt opened for Grammy-winning recording artists like PJ Morton and toured with Burning Spear, which took him around the world as he performed in international festivals in places like Amsterdam, France, and London. This also helped to put his wife through her doctoral program at the University of Central Florida. Much to Jarritt and Antonia’s delight, Jarritt was accepted to a masters/doctoral program at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. As a young, ambitious couple, they hit the ground running and made the Boogie Down Bronx their home in 2013. At TC, Jarritt engaged whole-heartedly in his work and truly began to flourish. He relished in the fact that he took Philosopher, Maxine Greene’s last class, uncovered the works of John Dewey, W.E.B. Dubois, and Gloria Ladson-Billings and took a class taught by Cornel West at Union Theological. His research and interests centered around hip-hop, and the intersections of democracy, freedom, harnessing the imagination, a DIY aesthetic and culturally responsive teaching. With so much knowledge being discovered/uncovered, Jarritt began developing a philosophy of hip-hop music education and connected with other scholars and ideas across the globe. He co-created the hip-hop music education site/ repository, hiphopmusiced.com and began speaking extensively at conferences and professional development sessions for high schools, colleges, and organizations like Soundtrap, South by Southwest and Spotify. While living in NYC, he also taught at Guttman Community College, NYU, and became the Director for Youth Workshop Band as Part of the Education Department for Jazz at Lincoln Center. He also taught for a short period of time in the New York City Public School system, introducing students to the art of deejaying as he also took up the art form and taught himself the technology. Jarritt completed his Masters in Education (M.Ed.) from TC in 2015 and began his doctoral research, (becoming ABD in 2019). In 2016, he welcomed his first son, Judah Justice and along with his wife, loved him fiercely. Having a son or his “sun” as he called him, was the supreme joy of his life. In 2018, Jarritt was offered a role as an Assistant Professor of Music Education at The Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. As a beloved teacher and advisor, he taught Introduction to Music Education, Engaging Contemporary Issues, Multimedia for the Educator, helped students prepare for licensing exams, sat on numerous committees and conducted private trumpet (/brass) lessons. He also created the first ever Hip-Hop Music Education course for the college. He taught graduate courses for the Boston Conservatory, led student ensembles, and won the Dean’s Award for Creative Scholarship and Professional Contributions in 2021. He also helped to create the core curriculum for the newly created Bachelor of Arts Degree in Black Music. Jarritt served on the Editorial Board as an Editor of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for the Massachusetts Music Educators Journal. He engaged whole heartedly with the greater Boston area providing consultations, workshops for local school systems and colleges. He played in bands and supported local artists including Oompa and CliffNotezz. He also worked with the Boston Music Project. While living just outside of Boston in Malden, MA, Jarritt and Antonia welcomed their second son, Aden David, in 2019. Jarritt became a top photographer for google and had his images viewed millions of times online. Above all Jarritt did outside of the home, he felt his greatest accomplishments, impact and dedication was to his family and the love he and Antonia shared. In 2021, the time had come to lay down more permanent roots and the couple decided to make Springfield, MA, “The City of Firsts / The City of Homes” as their home. Jarritt’s was proud that he was able to purchase a home for his family in the Forest Park neighborhood and even enjoyed the stress of making the home what they always wanted. He would commute to Boston several times a week for work and spend his free time with his now three children, as the couple’s daughter, Sarah Antonia was welcomed into the world in November 2021. Jarritt loved taking his children to the park and to activities of all sorts at the museum. He loved introducing them to the world of Marvel, comics, art, the music of Michael Jackson, dance parties, and teaching them how to pray. Their worlds were filled with laughter, toys, and secret handshakes. He held them tight each night and sang to them or read stories as they would often only fall asleep in his arms. His most special thoughts and dreams were reserved for Antonia. He would write her love notes, draw her photos, sing to her and pray over her. Their love was truly a love story of a lifetime. Along with his wife, he recently dedicated his children back to the Lord at his home church, All Nations Church of Springfield, MA. This was a significant, heartfelt moment for Jarritt as he had always longed to be a father and show his own children the love of God he himself had experienced. Jarritt was a giant of a man- from his ideas, to his giving, to his heart. There was nothing he could or would not do to help another person. Music, the arts, comic books, sci-fi shows/ films, drawing, painting, and photography were some of his greatest enjoyments. He knew a lot about everything— literally everything. He loved his wife, three children and wonderdog, Marley, deeply and he spoke fondly of them wherever he went. Antonia, Judah (6), Aden (2) and Sarah (1) will miss him greatly. He is preceded in death by his father, Ahmed Mursal Sheel; grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Smith; Uncle by marriage, Donald Hornsby; Grandfather by marriage, William Bill Winston; Grandmother by marriage, Betty Lou Hornsby; aunt by marriage, DelRoyce Tatum. He is survived by his three children, the love of his life, his wife, Antonia Sheel; mother, Pamela Smith; in-laws Mark Winston and Marcia Lynn Winston; Grandmother by marriage, Ramona Winston; brother and sisters in law, and a host of nieces, nephews, a God-son, Elias Delisfort, aunts, uncles and cousins. Jarritt Ahmed Sheel was a good man- full of zeal, integrity, humility and kindness. While his lack of physical presence on this earth will be greatly felt, his ideas, reach, legacy of love and doing what was right will be felt for generations to come. Photo Album
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Jarritt Ahmed Sheel April 15 1976 November 12 2022.
Death notice for the town of: Coleman, state: Texas