Delores Armstrong Passes On

BRAMPTON, Ontario (Friday, March 18, 2022) — Delores Armstrong (nee Scarlett), 79 — born on September 15, 1942, in Lower Buxton, St. Ann, Jamaica — died, surrounded by family, earlier this month on March 4, in Brampton, Ontario.

The first child of parents, Florence and James Scarlett — but the fourth daughter of her mother — Delores was followed by Norma (Pam), now deceased; Ula (June); and Melesa (Lesa).

Her older sisters were Lurline (Sister Lizzy) Gordon; Esmeridina (Sister Esmie) Palmer (nee Gordon); and Sarah Gordon (Sister Sarah), and her brother, on her father’s side, was Arthur Scarlett (Brother Tan Tan).

Delores, fondly referred to as Dell, was a popular dressmaker and a stay-at-home mother, which provided her with the opportunity to engage in something else that she loved dearly — taking care of children — she was a popular babysitter. That love continued when she immigrated to Canada with her family.

In 1960, she met Henry Armstrong in Kingston, where their union eventually led to the birth of three children: Sharon, Neil and Andrew. They moved to Ensom City, Spanish Town, in 1973, where they were subsequently joined by Walton (Mark) Campbell, Dell’s first child, and Duke, Henry’s son. On June 26, 1982, the couple got married in St. Andrew.

Neil, a veteran journalist and the Jamaica Gleaner’s North American Editor, memorialised his mother in a Facebook post: “She was loving, compassionate and jovial. My siblings and I will miss her laughter and my sometimes harmonizing with her in songs.

“I appreciate the fact that relatives and longtime friends rallied around her. It hurts that the diagnosis and prognosis of her health condition were revealed on my birthday – Christmas Eve – but I give thanks that God placed her in my life. What a joy it was to be her child!

“Like my father and siblings, I feel unmoored, but appreciate all the love being sent our way……. My mother was a wife, grandmother, sister, aunt and a hospitable person. I/we will miss her and will cherish each memory.”

Dell, a storyteller gifted with the ability to make people laugh at any moment, was kind, compassionate, hospitable, simple, and always willing to lend a helping hand in any way she could. Needless to say, her home was a welcoming place for many relatives and friends, and her cooking was legendary. Eider Road in Ensom City was where Dell’s hospitality shone with her immediate family and the extended family, also known as the Eider Road Posse.

She is survived by husband, Henry; children, Walton (Mark), Sharon, Neil, Andrew and stepson, Duke; grandchildren, Deja and Jordan; sisters, Ula (June) Itriago and Melesa Scarlett; and nieces and nephews.

Dell’s Visitation is being held today, Friday, March 18, between 4 and-8p.m. at the Brampton Funeral Home and Cemetery, 10061 Chinguacousy Rd., in Brampton. Her Funeral Service will be held tomorrow, Saturday, March 19, starting at 11:00 a.m. at Brampton Funeral Home and Cemetery; and her burial will take place at 12:30-1:00 p.m. in the Garden of Remembrance at the cemetery.

For those unable to attend the Funeral Service, the proceedings can be viewed, via this Livestream link: funeraweb.tv/en/diffusions/48806.