Paul Anthony Deslandes was born on November 10, 1965, in Kingston, Jamaica through the loving union of Ivy May Deslandes and Jerome Alphonso Deslandes. He was the youngest of their nine children. Paul spent his formative years in Jamaica, while attending Mico Practicing All Age School. He emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to join his mother Ivy and sister Jean in 1978, where he attended elementary and post-secondary school. Paul was passionate about food and became an outstanding cook and baker after experimenting with his mother’s recipes, and cookbooks, and drawing inspiration from the Food Network. He had so much insight and knowledge about different types of foods, herbs, and spices, and created his own rubs and sauces. He was also very health conscious, and knowledgeable about the healing properties of various plants, fruits, and vegetables - often educating his family about these provisions and creating remedies when they were sick. Although self-taught, Paul was a chef and an herbalist in his own right!

As a musicologist, Paul really loved music and knew a great deal about music (reggae, R&B, hip-hop and soul), as well as different artists. He was an avid collector of records, cassettes and CDs. With his knowledge and expertise of the different genre in music, he exposed his family and younger generations to his unique collections. He even fronted as a music producer to get his nieces and nephews to sing over mixed tunes. As the family DJ, he often played music at events such as birthdays and other gatherings. Paul took great pride in his custom music systems that he built himself from salvaging broken speakers, repairing them, and making them better than they were in the first place. The house was always filled with music that he played from his custom systems. It soothed his soul knowing that others could share the experience and the intricacies of the music he enjoyed by his favourite reggae artists including Sanchez, Wayne Wonder, Luciano, Garnet Silk, Frankie Paul, Beres Hammond, Super Cat, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Rayvon, Heavy D, Biggy Small, Tupac, Usher, Mary J Blige, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Anita Baker, Safe and Toni Braxton, just to name a few.

Paul aka (Pablo) was first called Pablo by his sister Patricia, because of his musical talents that reminded her of a reggae artist named Augustus Pablo. Paul had a mellow personality that was like a gentle, humble giant, not to mention his amusing sense of humor. Those close to Paul knew that they could always give him a call if they were ever feeling down. This is because Paul was very compassionate, patient, loving, and kind especially towards his nieces and nephews. It was endearing to Paul to be called “Pablo” by close family and friends.

Paul was very spiritual, holding a strong belief in the Creator. He turned to the Lord and often read his bible. He shared this with his family to ensure that they do the same. It is for this reason that we know that he is certainly in a much better place now.

Paul passed away on April 11, 2024, and left behind a loving extended family and a circle of friends. He leaves behind his eight siblings who love him dearly: Sonia, Valerie, Michael, Audrey, Jean, Patricia, Rose, and Andrea. He also left behind twelve nieces and nephews who loved him dearly: Marsha, Shelene, Christel, Kisrene, Shawna, Aundre, Sheldon, Daniella, Tanya, Lache, Sade, and Miguel. Additionally, twenty-one grand nieces and nephews including: Daniel, Allysha, Kaisha, Jarell, Kahelle, Brooklyn, Dana, Jorell, Tejean, Thalia, Summer, Kianna, Isabella, Ashton, Chandler, Krystal, Elijah, Gabrielle, Raven, Isaac, and Olivia. Along with great grand nieces and nephews including: Channing, Harper, Denver, Avah, Zayn, Chosen. Lastly, Paul also left behind his loving aunt, Francis Rose Carey, cousins, extended families and friends. Paul was preceded in death by his loving father Jerome, mother Ivy, niece Dionne, and nephew Marlon.

Paul will forever be remembered as a wonderful brother, uncle, cousin and friend, and for his fun personality, humour, love, empathy and compassion for others, passion for music and food, and all the amazing memories. He has left a lasting impression on all those who met him, to live life to our full capacity and following our passion. Paul reminds us all to love one another and always trust the Creator.

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