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In shock!

by Barbados Today
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Colin Farley collapsed and died suddenly last evening.

The community of Lower Carlton, St James has lost a man who many have described as a father figure, brother and friend. They have also been overcome with disbelief that Colin Junior Farley who appeared to be “perfectly healthy” collapsed and died suddenly.

Black flags respectfully adorned street poles between the 3rd and 4th avenues of Lower Carlton and a large crowd gathered at the spot where 51-year-old Colin would eat, drink and socialize, to mourn his passing.

Colin Farley collapsed and died suddenly last evening.

Colin Farley collapsed and died suddenly last evening.

Personnel from Two Sons Funeral Home prepare to remove the body of Colin Farley.

Farley, an employee of Pizza Man Doc was in the storeroom of the restaurant’s Sheraton Centre branch when he reportedly collapsed and fell unconscious. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful and some from the community, including his brother Ian Die Hard Farley made the long journey to Christ Church, where their greatest fears were realized.

Nearly 12 hours later, reality was setting in for those who knew him best. The chorus of wailing which engulfed the community the night before was reduced to sobbing as family and friends reminisced about the life of a man who they say would never allow them to go hungry.

“When I heard the news I said I have to go and see that for myself, because the way how I left him, I know that he was good. He was healthy; he would drink a little social drink and say he was going home, because he was no drinker,” revealed his brother, Ian.

With pain in his voice, he said: “I know he has gone to a good place, but it still hurts. Every time I pour a drink or anytime I think about him, I know he will be here.

“I spent time with him the night before he died, but he will still be here with me all the time. I already told him so last night. I grabbed him and although he was dead, I told him that he will be with me all the time,” said the younger brother. In fact, Ian and others confirmed that for years, Colin would use his talent in the kitchen to feed many of the people around him.

“He gave me the first pepperpot in my life,” remarked another friend. “The first person that has ever given me cow heel soup and I enjoyed it. He was famous for his pizza, but he used to make everything. He used to make pizza, cooked food for us and made us feel happy. We used to have a good time down here and he was our friend, family, our brother and our uncle.”

To demonstrate their level of disbelief at the turn of events, neighbours recounted just two weeks prior, Colin, a fun-loving man challenged some of the younger men in the community to a race and won, solidifying in their minds, how healthy he was.

“He is one of the greatest men I have ever known. We raced from the house down there to here and the man beat me. I am 36 years old and he is 51 years old and he beat me out here two Sundays ago and told me that I was getting old and popped down and they laughed at me so bad,” remembered the young man as he smiled. Others recalled Colin as an avid supporter of English Football Club Manchester United who would support the team through thick and thin.

Another neighbour, Evelyn Hyppolite recalled that it was Colin’s idea to start a community potluck on Sundays to ensure that everyone was able to enjoy a good Sunday lunch.

“We all would go to the beach on Sundays and he was concerned that not everybody was getting something to eat and he brought up the idea of cooking on Sundays,” she said.

“Once you see Colin Farley, you know there would always be somebody there to make you laugh. If he had to tell off somebody, he would do it but you would never hear him out loud being disrespectful to people, at least not to me or in my presence. He was always mannerly and always responsible,” she said as she recalled him in his younger days as a student at the St James Mixed School. After school he went to work at Pizza Man Doc’s Speightstown branch.

“He had to look after his younger sister and brother from a young age and he never went to school without them and he never came home without them,” she said.

Others said they could count on Colin to collect them from anywhere if they were in a desperate situation or to take them to the hospital at any time if they felt ill.

Also among those mourning his loss are both of his parents, two children, a grandchild, his girlfriend and a stepson. kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb

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