Dr. Bertram Fraser-Reid (1934 - 2020) was a synthetic organic chemist whose research on sugars improved our understanding of how the immune system fights diseases . He was born in Coleyville, Manchester and enjoyed reading when not attending Bryce Elementary School where his father was principal. He attended Excelsior High School where his love for music and playing the piano and organ were developed. It was at Clarendon College where he also taught science for a few years, that his love for chemistry started when he read a book titled, "Teach Yourself Chemistry". Inspired by this book, he migrated to Canada to study at the Queen's University where he obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in chemisty. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta in 1964 following which he did post-doctoral studies at Imperial College London. Dr. Fraser-Reid was on the faculty of the University of Waterloo from 1966 to 1980 where his research focused on producing chiral materials from carbohydrates. His work in sugar chemistry has been used in the control of insects that are harmful to agriculture. His discovery that he could copy pheromones, which could be utilized by the forestry service to prevent wood-eating insects from ruining trees, has helped to safeguard forests in Canada and Latin America. He moved to the USA and worked briefly at the University of Maryland and then at Duke University from 1983 to 1996 when he retired. His work at Duke University focused on oligosaccharides (a commonly occuring sugar in certain plants, with a shorter chain than polysaccharides) and the role they play in the body’s immune system - he found that they help the body recognize and respond to threats, like bacteria and viruses. After leaving Duke he established the Natural Products and Glycotechnology Research Institute to study the carbohydrate chemistry of tropical parasitic diseases towards developing better treatments or vaccines for diseases such as malaria and sleeping sickness. Dr. Fraser-Reid has received numerous awards from institutions all over the world including the Gold Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica. He was an accomplished jazz and classical pianist and organist and gave recitals around the world, of note at St. Geoge’s Anglican Church in Kingston, Jamaica in 1986.