Basil gets last kiss from his common-law wife

Michelle Pompey had a ritual of kissing her common law husband Basil Ince every morning before she left for work.

The morning of December 31, 2009, was no different.”{{more}}

“She usually leave for work before me and she usually give me a kiss before she go out the door,” Basil reminisced.

“Even if she reach out the door and she don’t give me this kiss, she will come back and say: “Come for the kiss cause we don’t know if is the last one you going to get.

Fighting back tears, Ince described the 37-year-old mother of three as a great person who will be irreplaceable in the family’s life. He said that Pompey was a very friendly and spirited person who always had a joke for everyone.

The office attendant, employed with the Government Employees Cooperative Credit Union (GECCU) at their Georgetown office, was on her way to Kingstown to run work errands when the 18-seater Nissan Urvan in which she was traveling overturned on the new Argyle road, killing her on the spot.

Pompey was sitting next to Sonithie Ballantyne when the accident occurred. Ballantyne was also fatally injured in the accident.

Ince, employed with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Postal Service, said he found out about the accident when a friend of the family called him and told him about the accident, and inquired if he had heard from his fiancé of more than 12 years.

Accompanied by friends, Ince rushed to the scene where it was confirmed that it was Pompey who had died.

Acknowledging that the next few weeks and months, or even longer, may be the hardest for the family, Ince said that he has to be strong, not only for himself, but also for 17-year-old Makiyo and 14-year-old Cody, both students of the St. Vincent Grammar School, and seven-year-old Shazelle, a grade two pupil of the Georgetown Government School.

“I have been getting support from friends and the community, and that is helping,” said Ince. “I am still trying to come to grips, but it is very, very hard for me.”

Michelle is to be laid to rest this Sunday.