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Family reflects on Nicholson’s humour
September 05, 2024
The family of former national footballer Boysie 'Bengaleng' Nicholson says even while he had been tackling Parkinson's disease over the past 10 years, there was rarely a dull moment in the company of the Reno legend.
Nicholson passed away due to illness early yesterday morning and his widow, Palone Russell, and daughter Monique Nicholson said that he usually makes light of his troubled moments.
"He was very funny. He gave us a lot of jokes," Russell recalled with laughter.
Monique recalls: "We had some real funny moment. Even though he was troubled, he was a lot of fun. We would make light of it," she said.
She pointed out that the nature of his illness caused him to sometimes run away from home, but being a popular figure he never gets far.
And each time they caught up with him, humour was always at play.
"Even though not being so mobile anymore, he would run away and run around the block faster than anybody else. So we always joked that we never knew he was a track star," his daughter shared.
"Sometimes neighbours would try to bring him back, and he would pretend as if he was a boxer, throwing jabs. So we would say you are a track star turned boxer," she reminisced fondly.
"One day he asked my stepmother for his money and when she replied 'which money', he told her the money that a man paid him to act in a movie. So we would say, 'you are a movie star now'.
"My sister would video him and make a commentary like, on the next episode of 'Polly' (Russell) and 'Bengaleng'. So we usually just find fun with him," she said.
Meanwhile, Russell explained that Nicholson had been suffering from a chest infection for some time. He was taken to the hospital a couple weeks ago, but was sent home the following day with a tube through his nostril.
However, it is understood that the infection moved to his lungs and he was taken back to the hospital last Wednesday, where he stayed on an oxygen machine until the time of his passing.
"We took him back to the hospital because he was stifling, he could not breathe. It's like his lungs were locking off. So we took him to the hospital and he was on oxygen right through. They called me after 12 (Wednesday morning) to say he had passed."
Nicholson's former teammate and coaching partner, Wendell Downswell, said it's a sad year for the Reno family, with the loss of three legends.
Nevertheless, he revealed that the club intends to honour the man who brought Premier League and schoolboy football success to the parish for the first time.
He first did it with Reno (1990) and was instrumental in all three Premier League triumphs (1990, 1991 and 1995) and Frome Technical which he led (as coach) to the daCosta Cup in 2003.
"It's really a sad day. I express profound condolences to family and close associates. It's another burial in the Reno family. Recently, we buried Calvin Valentine along with Cecil Pringle. So it's sad news for the Reno family," the director of football at the Jamaica Football Federation said.
Downswell, who starred alongside Nicholson as a dangerous front-line duo at Reno in the 1970s, said as a player Nicholson gave his all, was a prolific goal scorer and had a jovial personality.
However, as a coach he was a no-nonsense man and a tactical wizard.
"He was loved by his players, even though he was very disciplined in his approach. He was a no-nonsense man. Ruthless. That was his approach," Downswell shared..
"We played together before he transitioned into coaching. You could consider him a wizard, as he came up with a lot of tactical ideas."
He added that Nicholson, one of Reno's founding fathers, could have offered even more to Jamaica's football had he not suffered from Parkinson's disease, which affects one's motor skills.
"He could have made an even greater contribution to Jamaica's football. But he is a Reno icon, a legend and of course he will remain a household name in football. So we have to make him a honorary member of the Reno family," said Downswell.
Nicholson, who was 69 at the time of his passing, leaves behind his wife, two daughters and two sons.
