Allan William Bentley Burgess

Pearl with Rosemary

Allan William Bentley Burgess, or most times called Benny, or more formally by his mother, or others at times, Bentley, was a real charmer when he was sober, what I always thought to be a real ladies man. The Burgess clan answer to Cary Grant. When he was drunk though, which was often he was a mean, mean, person. Benny embodied the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome. Benny married Pearl in Kitchener where they met, and they had two daughters Dianne, and Carrol. Pearl I think can be said was the most beautiful woman of the Burgess clan by far, and the same can be said of her two daughters. I never got to know Benny either because around me at least never opened up very much, and we never seemed to get together much, and when we did it seemed to be by accident, rather than design. Benny was a Painter Paper Hanger, and was very good at his job. Benny hung paper on the ceiling of my mothers house at 13 Tyndall Ave. and this was before the advent of pre glued paper. It was this time that I think I spoke with Benny the most. I think I was at his house once or twice but not much, and so therefore I never got to know his girls much. Benny was never accepted into the army for the second war because of flat feet, and perhaps this might have been a contributing factor to his meanness when drunk, he might have felt left out on something all his brothers took part in, mind you it can't be the entire factor because there was a certain meanness to all the male members of the clan. Pearl worked for Eaton's for many years and a lot on the information desk in the Basement, and any time I would be in Eaton's I would make a point of going to talk with her. Pearl was not only a beautiful woman she had a personality to match, and everyone I ever met who knew her thought the same. Because of Benny's drinking and meanness, Pearl eventually felt compelled to divorce Benny, and we all thought what a shame, how could this doughead let this woman get away. Pearl eventually remarried and as far as we know had a happy marriage until her second husbands death. After the divorce and remarriage we lost touch with Pearl for many years, and when we eventually did re-establish our relationship, we found that she never changed, and that even in her eighty's she is still a beautiful woman, with a great personality. It was also good to hear she had a great relationship with her second husband because she deserved it.
As a youngster when John, Benny's older brother was going out hunting one day, Benny asked to go with him and John said no he couldn't go. Benny stewed about it the whole day and when John returned and put the gun down, a 22, Benny picked it up and said he had a good mind to shoot John, and John said, shoot, shoot, and Benny pulled the trigger and shot John. John had thought he unloaded the gun but evidently didn't. As the bullet didn't pose a problem and it would have been more dangerous to take it out, they just left it there and John died of a relatively old age with it still in him.
Benny eventually died of a stroke at his mother's dinning room table, at 107 Hope St. in Port Hope Ont.