Beloved husband and father dies on the way home from church

A mother and her children are grieving the loss of a husband and a father after their loved one 74-year-old Denzil Allman died tragically on Wednesday night in a collision with a police vehicle.

As brothers Charles and Adrian Allman stuck close to their mother Marcia at the #102 Cherry Drive, Oxnard, St James home she shared with Denzil, her husband of 46 years, they said it was a struggle coming to grips with the sudden loss of the man who was an excellent father, loving husband, devoted Christian and man of integrity who was always willing to help those in need.

Charles said his dad, a Justice of the Peace and head deacon at the Power in the Blood Assembly, Tudor Bridge, St Michael, was headed home from a church meeting when the vehicle he was driving collided with the police vehicle around 8:30 p.m., along Black Rock Main Road at its junction with Fairfield Road, St Michael.

He said for many years, that is the route his father took to and from church.

“I heard he was coming in from the Fairfield section and would have been making a right turn to come up to Black Rock to come down to the bottom of Cave Hill to come up. I guess as he was making the turn there, the police vehicle was responding to a call somewhere.

“At that four-cross it is difficult for anybody coming up from the Fairfield side to see traffic coming from that other side. So, when he came out the police jeep hit him head out. From all accounts he died on the scene from the impact,” Charles said.

The grieving son recalled that before his dad left home around 6 p.m. to attend the meeting, he told him to take his time and return.

The elder son said when the family received the call that their loved one was involved in the accident, they thought it was just a fender bender, until they started seeing pictures and videos circulating on social media, followed by rumours that the occupant had died.

Charles said he was out at that time, but immediately rushed home to be by his 67-year-old mother’s side before it was confirmed that his dad died.
“So yes, we are still trying to figure it out,” he said.

He said his father worked at Air Canada as a regional customer service training representative for 30 years, before moving on to take up a managerial position with Continental Airlines in the early 2000’s, staying with that airline for several years.

He said after Continental Airlines pulled out of Barbados, Allman pursued a career in real estate, establishing the company DENMAR a combination of his name and his wife’s.

Allman, who also held a degree in economics from an international university, enjoyed having conversations about economics and supply chain logistics, among other intriguing topics.

Forty-two-year-old Charles said he has been living overseas for the past 20 years building a career. However, he said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned to Barbados in March as he grabbed the opportunity to work remotely.

Charles said today he does not regret making the decision to return to Barbados because he was able to spend some quality time with his father.

“He was an excellent dad. Education was his thing and he had a love for words. He used to buy us dictionaries and thesauruses and encyclopedia for our birthdays. We hardly got any toys. He was a toastmaster at one point in his early life. I would say he was a dutiful husband. Every weekend he would go to the market and buy the fruits and the vegetables, buy the fish, buy the coconut water, get the jelly.

“I wouldn’t say he was a disciplinarian; he showed a lot of love. But at this time, it is all about a smooth transition. I don’t want my mom to worry about anything right now and we are willing to do whatever is required to fill that gap for now,”Charles said.

Adrian who rushed to the accident scene said he will never forget seeing his father’s lifeless body in the car and his glasses on the ground next to his watch. For him, it was a painful moment having to call his mother and brother to share the heartbreaking news with them.

He suggested that there is a need for provisions to be put in place to address the initial point of contact between the police and grieving relatives at similar scenes.

“I don’t think I would ever forget how the lady got on. She was the only woman and you would think that she would be a little bit more compassionate about what is going on, a little bit more empathetic to the situation. She was the most harsh and abrasive. If not for investigator Edwards or Rodney Inniss, [Police Public Relations Officer Acting Inspector] they were excellent in handling everything.

“They called this morning and checked in. I definitely wouldn’t say it was all the police. But that initial point was rough. I told the lady that was my father and I just wanted to know what was going on and she just said ‘you can’t be here, stand up out there’. And then another guy heard what was going on and he called me and asked me if it was my father and he told me he would gather some information. And then there was a lady at the end who was also helpful and offered her condolences,” Adrian said.

Adrian said he last spoke to his father on Tuesday when they discussed how he would go about developing some land he had acquired.
He said his father asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he told him he wanted to put a fence on the property.
“I know that man, he would have gone and done that because that is the type of person he is. That was the last, meaningful conversation we had.

When he left here yesterday, I had just finished lessons and I just went and lay down and then I got the call which woke me up,” Adrian recalled.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb