(EDITOR’S NOTE: I had to share this wonderful tribute to the late Alphonso “Boogaloo” Elliott that was posted on Facebook by his brother Jerome Elliott as a Guest Commentary with readers of BAHAMAS CHRONICLE.)
GUEST COMMENTARY: BY JEROME ELLIOTT
NASSAU, Bahamas — Alphonso, you have always been larger than life. You lived your life unapologetically, always moving, always going, always doing. Doing good where you saw the need, going to places that interested you and you alone and moving mountains when they presented themselves as obstacles to your intent.
One of my fondest memories is of your passion for story-telling and I have and will now even more strongly miss your recounting of your days in Andros as a little boy, your times in Primary School and the later years that you spent at Hobby Horse Hall Race Track.
Hobby Horse Hall was such a significant part of your life that we all know the phrase “the owner of the foal is the owner of the mare at the time of foaling” and its significance.
We also know the origin of your nickname and its equestrian background.
But there is another saying of yours that has shaped my approach to life and its vagaries:
“You have to play the hand you are dealt”.
That is is a saying that I have often heard you repeat almost to yourself and usually in tough times. But you proved that tough times never last, tough people do. And you were one of the toughest.
You didn’t suffer fools and let them know, but there was a kind side to you, of which many may not be aware. Those who gained your favor, could do no wrong, and I was fortunate to count myself in that small circle of favorites.
Alphonso, as you take your long rest and join your father, Audley, and his father Benjamin, I am sure that they are even now welcoming you into God’s warm embrace.
Sleep on big brother. You are gone from our presence, but never from our hearts.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Boogaloo and I grew up like brothers with our grandparents Benjamin and Mabel Elliott at Staniard Creek, Andros, from we were literally both babies. He was the eldest son of my late uncle Audley Elliott, who was a younger brother of my late mother Violet Elliott Brown. We were among seven grandchildren who grew up with Papa and Mama at Stanyard Creek. Boogaloo’s funeral service was held on Thursday, December 15, at The Church of The Most Holy Trinity in Stapledon Gardens.
Officiating were Rev. Fr. DeAngelo Bowe, assisted by Archdeacon Mark Fox, Rev. Fr. Roderick Bain, and other members of the clergy. It was a wonderful “homegoing celebration” and thanks to the website of Bahamas Welding & Fire — one of Boogaloo’s companies — I was able to watch it here in Washington, D.C. Interment followed in Lakeview Memorial Gardens & Mausoleum, John F. Kennedy Drive and Gladstone Road. May the soul of my beloved first cousin rest in peace.
