Former SVG education minister passes at 92
By Nelson A. King
Alphonso Alpheus Dennie —
a former St. Vincent and the
Grenadines education minister,
who, in 1972, successfully contested
the North Leeward constituency
for the then People’s
Political Party (PPP), led by late
Chief Minister Ebenezer Theodore
Joshua, becoming a Member
of the House of Assembly,
and who served as principals
at several elementary schools
in the country and taught secondary
schools in Barbados —
died on Sept. 22. He was 92.
Roslyn Dennie — Mr. Dennie’s
third daughter, a former
Brooklyn resident, who recently
moved to Florest Hills,
Newark, NJ — told Caribbean
Life recently that her father
died of natural causes at the
Milton Cato Memorial Hospital,
named after the nation’s first
prime minister, in Kingstown,
the Vincentian capital.
Although Dennie lived, during
his retirement years, in
Sion Hill Bay, a Kingstown suburb,
Roslyn said the family will
honor her father’s wish to be
interred in Troumaca, in North
Leeward, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, where he was
born, grew up, and attended
and taught elementary school.
She said a date for the funeral
service and interment is yet
to be finalized.
“What I remember most
about my father was his passion
for success and excellence,”
Roslyn said. “He believed that a
sound education would provide
the skills and motivation for
success in life.
“He always encouraged his
children to follow their dreams
and never give up until our
dreams were achieved,” she
added. “Dad loved Shakespeare
and would often quote Shakespeare
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“One of his favorite Shakespeare
quotes was ‘The heights
by great men reached and kept
were not attained by sudden
flight, but they while their
companions slept, were toiling
upwards in the night,’” Roslyn
continued.
Trevor Dennie, Dennie’s second
son and third child, who
resides in Allentown, PA, also
told Caribbean Life Monday
night that “those who knew
my dad knew that he was very
straight forward.
“My very first impressions of
my dad put me in awe and total
admiration of his brilliance, his
ambition and his striving for
success,” Trevor said. “He had
such a passion for knowledge
and learning, which he was so
eager to share with his friends
and family.
“And, as a result of these
passions, he became one of the
most successful teachers on
the island,” he added. “He had
a strong belief that a mind is a
terrible thing to waste.”
Trevor said he recalled “seeing
the joy” in his dad’s eyes
when he spoke about the successes
of his students.
“He enjoyed every school
subject and would always recite
passages from poetry and literature,”
he said. “He loved
poems, like ‘If” by Rudyard
Kipling, and poets, like Henry
Wadsworth and H. W. Longfellow’s.
“And, as I say goodbye to
my father, I am reminded of a
speech in Shakespeare’s Julius
Caesar that he would say from
time to time: ‘When beggars
die there are no comets seen.
The heavens themselves blaze
forth the deaths of princes’”,
Trevor added.
“Well, dad, I’m sure there
are comets all around,” he continued.
“And, as for me, you
are a true prince, and you are
soaring with princes. Rest in
peace, dad. I’m so proud to be
your son.”
Dennie’s second child and
first son, Olin Dennie – a
prominent lawyer in St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, who
had unsuccessfully contested
the North Leeward seat – died
on Sept. 1, 2016 in New York.
He was 63.
Olin’s mother and Mr. Dennie’s
wife, Stella Dennie, née
Cottle, predeceased them, on
Mar. 18, 2012, after a prolonged
illness in Brooklyn. She was
82.
Roslyn said her father was
born on May 16, 1928 to Arthur
Alexander Dennie and Margaret
Dennie, of Troumaca.
The 4th of eight children,
Alphonso Alpheus Dennie
attended the Troumaca Government
school, where he, subsequently,
taught as a supernumerary
teacher.
At 22, Roslyn said Dennie
became an assistant head
teacher and was transferred to
Union Island in the southern
St. Vincent Grenadines.
After a brief stay in Union
Island, she said Dennie
returned to Troumaca Government
School as the head
teacher.
In 1950, Roslyn said Dennie
married his childhood sweetheart,
Stella, with the union
producing seven children.
Besides Troumaca and Chateaubelair
Methodist School,
Roslyn said her father taught
as several elementary schools
Former SVG Education Minister
Alphonso Dennie. Roslyn
Dennie
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