Family and friends gathered at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess to remember former bellman Corey Lowe.

Mr. Lowe died on August 6 at the age of 35 after years of treatment for kidney complications.

Staff at the hotel had raised funds to assist in the education of Mr. Lowe's ten-year-old son Jahkari Tucker.

They presented the Bermuda Institute student with a cheque for $2,500 yesterday.

Mr. Lowe had worked at the Hamilton Princess Hotel for five years and was described as "the life of the hotel" by Director of Front Office Operations, Roydell Neverson.

She said: "He was all about life. He had the gift of the gab and was loved by staff and visitors. He was always telling a joke and making people laugh.

"You would never know if he was in pain — he wouldn't let people know. He just kept on laughing. He was the life and soul of the lobby, the essence of life."

Mr. Lowe first noticed something was wrong with his health in 1994, when he was only 22, because he had excruciating headaches. Initial tests showed he had extremely high blood pressure (250/175).

Additional tests found that he had a high percentage of protein in his urine and he was diagnosed with end stage renal failure (ESRF).

In 2004 thanks to an anonymous living donor he underwent a kidney transplant in the US on Valentine's Day.

He returned to work at the Hamilton Princess soon after the operation and told The Royal Gazette in an interview that he was happy to be back at work and able to play with his son.

But Mr. Lowe passed away in August, his mother Christine Lowe-Simons said they were waiting for an autopsy to find out the official reason for his death — though it was believed to be medically related.

Mrs. Lowe-Simons said: "He was a jovial person and got along with everybody and he was a hard worker too. It's been very hard on everybody especially his son. They had a close bond."

Raquel Tucker, the mother of ten-year-old Jahkari, said the two both loved cricket.

"They were very close and he was a good father," she said as she teared up. "It's been very sad for everyone. I just want to say thank you to the Fairmont for helping us and being very good to him.

"He loved his job here and the people he worked with."

Head Bellman, Eddie Benjamin, said coworkers at the hotel decided to collect funds for Jahkari soon after Mr. Lowe's death.

They collected $1,300 and General Manager Jonathan Crellin decided to contribute $1,200 on behalf of the hotel to bring the total to $2,500 Mr. Benjamin added that Mr. Lowe often spoke of his son and was well liked in the hotel.

"He was just a great guy," Mr. Benjamin said. "He always gave a hundred percent, even when he was sick he would never complain. He would just smile and make people laugh."