JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Back in 2010, a Jacksonville man anonymously helped reunite four boys from Haiti with their mother in Jacksonville.
The family desperately needed to be together again after their father, Raynold Orleus, was murdered in February of that year, helping his manager take a deposit to her car while working at the McDonald’s on Baymeadows Road.
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That’s when Jacques Klempf, a local businessman, anonymously stepped in after hearing about the tragedy.
“The next morning, I called some immigration attorneys,” Klempf said.
He paid for all the expenses for the four boys to come to the U.S., including legal fees for immigration attorneys at Fowler, White & Boggs.
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“We were able to get the boys here,” Klempf said.
The four boys were able to make it to Jacksonville to be with their mom Miraclide and little brother. Years passed, and Klempf didn’t hear any updates on how the Orleus family was doing.
‘ONE OF THE WORST THINGS’
The four boys arrived in America the month after their father’s death.
The Orleus family was reunited in Jacksonville in 2010, but their journey came with hardships, including the loss of their father.
“Definitely one of the worst things we could have ever heard,” older brother Reginald Orelus said.
Nesta Walker, now 44, was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for Raynold Orleus’ murder.
Reginald shared that their parents had moved to the U.S. to create a better life for their four boys, who were still in Haiti at the time. The family also had a child while living in America, the youngest brother Michael.
‘WE LOOKED UP TO HIM’
Since then, Reginald earned two degrees and started his own auto detailing company with his brother Marco.
“Someone did whatever they could to help me, and I wanted to pay it back. That’s why I started this business and help others,” Reginald said.
His 24-year-old brother Kili also started his own business.
“I have a trucking company with an 18-wheeler and two box trucks,” Kili said.
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All the brothers agreed that they admired Reginald, who was more than just a sibling — he was a leader for the family, alongside their mother.
“I looked up to him the most because he showed me how to be better,” youngest brother Michael Orelus said.
“We looked up to him because he took care of us at such a young age,” brother Marco Orelus said.
They also have another brother, Berry, who is in the military.
ORLEUS FAMILY REUNITED WITH KLEMPF
A chance encounter with a nurse at Mayo Clinic last year led Klempf to the Orleus family. He told the nurse, who was Haitian, about when he helped the family.
She told Klempf that she knew the Orleus family, that they were doing well, and gave him Reginald’s phone number.
Since then, Klempf has been to Marco’s wedding and the Orleus family has come to dine at Cowford Chophouse, which Klempf owns.
Miraclide, who doesn’t speak much English, said she was deeply grateful to Klempf for reuniting her family.
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