Fellow singers pay tribute to young at heart road victim
Friends of fatal road accident victim Don Wildman have told how they fought back tears to sing at churches across the Island in a tribute to their lost companion.Mr Wildman, 80, was killed in a crash on South Road as he rode to his guest accommodation to change his shirt ahead of a performance at Warwick Seventh-day Adventist Church on Saturday morning.Fellow singers of Florida’s Men of Markham Woods chorus yesterday spoke fondly of Mr Wildman, the oldest member of the group but described as a young man at heart.Several members of the choir travelled around the Island on rental scooters from Elbow Beach Hotel; while one failed a riding test, friends said Mr Wildman showed no signs of shakiness.On Saturday, he arrived at the Warwick church wearing the wrong coloured shirt; he was on his way to get changed at his guest accommodation at Bermuda Institute when he collided with a wooden railing near South Shore Park.Choir member Eric Mock said they were aware of the accident but, with Mr Wildman taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, the Warwick church performance went ahead as planned.“All of us knew he was in an accident and had gone to the hospital, but we did not understand he had passed away,” said Mr Mock.“After the performance they told us the news and it was hard to take. But we spoke to Don’s brother who told us Don would want us to continue with the other performances.”They went on to sing at St George’s Seventh-day Adventist Church that night and Wesley Methodist Church on Sunday morning.Mr Mock said: “It was emotional. A couple of songs became more difficult to sing. ‘It’s Well With My Soul’ in particular was one of his favourites.”Mr Wildman retired as a fundraiser for the Orlando Hospital two years ago; friends described him as an active family man who always had a smile on his face.Mr Mock said: “If you saw him you would think he was maybe in his late 60s.”Another chorus member, Fred Stephens, said: “He was one of those guys that never met a stranger. He always had a smile on his face.“It’s been a shock to us all. We came out here with 11 in our group and are going back with ten.“At first I was thinking maybe he shouldn’t be riding a bike, but there was no indication that I had, or the cycle people had, that he was at risk.“He didn’t appear to be at greater risk than any of the rest of us. He was more steady than the director of our group, who they denied the ability to ride a cycle.”Reacting to the news yesterday, Shadow Transport Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said: “‘For the second time in a few weeks, we again offer heartfelt condolences to the family of a visitor who met an untimely death on our roads.“While the circumstances of the accident are still a little sketchy, we would like to generally encourage the motoring public to be mindful of livery cycles and recognise that the riders may not be as comfortable as we are on our roads.“To the cycle liveries, we may need to rethink the training offered to renters to ensure their confidence level is appropriate, especially given the volume of traffic and the differences in our traffic patterns.”