AHLGREN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-10-25 published
ALLEN,
Grace
Margaret (née
AHLGREN)
At the Saint Thomas-Elgin General Hospital on Tuesday, October 23,
2007. Grace
(AHLGREN)
ALLEN in her 94th year. Beloved wife of
the late Elmer T. (Al)
ALLEN.
Loving mother of Joyce D. (Mrs. Robert
BRIGGS) of Shelburne, and R.E. (Ted)
ALLEN of Saint Thomas. Dear
grandmother of Chris
CONWAY
(Barrie,)
Donald
BRIGGS (British
Columbia,) Kimberly
ALLEN (Saint Thomas,) also survived by three
great-grandchildren. Predeceased by her brothers John, Lenard
and Roy AHLGREN, sisters Lily
SHERBUT and Esther
BELL.
Survived
by sisters-in-law Eileen
AHLGREN and
Vi AHLGREN and brother-in-law
Harold BELL.
Grace was born in Toronto on November 3, 1913. Daughter of the
late John O.
AHLGREN and Sarah P.
(ELVEY)
AHLGREN.
She lived
in the Shelburne/Orangeville area from 1949 until 1995 and lived
in Saint Thomas for the past twelve years.
The family will receive their Friends at the Daniel King Funeral
Home, 31 Elgin Street, Saint Thomas (519) 631-0570 on Friday from
7-9 p.m. Service to be held in the chapel on Saturday at 1: 30 p.m..
After cremation, interment will follow at the Shelburne Cemetery.
Donation to the Saint Thomas-Elgin General Hospital Foundation
appreciated. www.danielkingfuneralhome.com
A... Names AH... Names AHL... Names Welcome Home
AHLGREN - All Categories in OGSPI
AHLOWALIA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-01-08 published
Officer, two teens die in crash
By Greg McARTHUR,
Page A9
Toronto -- A 28-year-old off-duty police officer was among three
people killed in a fiery car crash Saturday morning in the Toronto
suburb of Vaughn.
Constable Davis
AHLOWALIA, who had been with York Regional Police
for 2½ years, was killed when a westbound minivan occupied by
three people swerved into oncoming traffic at 3: 30 a.m., colliding
with his eastbound Honda Civic.
Two occupants of the minivan, both teenagers, were killed in
the accident on Major Mackenzie Drive. The third occupant, who
was severely burned, is in critical condition at the hospital,
York Regional Police said late last night.
During his short time with the force, Constable
AHLOWALIA launched
a fundraising drive for a Jamaican orphanage. He spent many of
his vacations in India and Jamaica, working with the poor and
Human Immunodeficiency Virus patients. He was stationed out of
the force's headquarters in Newmarket.
"This is truly a tragedy that someone so young, with so much
to give is gone. Policing is a family and Davis's loss will be
felt by every member of York Regional Police," Chief Armand LA
BARGE said.
"We extend our deepest sympathy to Davis's many Friends and family
and we will be supporting them in their time of grief."
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the minivan
to swerve. The force's traffic bureau asks anyone with any information
to call 1-866-876-5423 ext. 7703, or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
A... Names AH... Names AHL... Names Welcome Home
AHLOWALIA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-01-12 published
Weekend crash claims fourth victim as man dies
Canadian Press, Page A10
A fiery weekend motor vehicle crash north of Toronto that killed
three people, including an off-duty police officer, claimed another
victim yesterday.
Mohammed MATTU, 19, who had been in critical condition since
the accident early Saturday morning, has died.
Mr. MATTU and two other young men were travelling in a minivan
that crossed the centre line on a road in Vaughan around 3: 30 a.m.
Constable Davis
AHLOWALIA, 28, of the York Regional Police was
killed when his car collided with the minivan. Both vehicles
burst into flames.
The two other occupants of the minivan -- Sulman
YUSAF, 19, and
Waleed SHAUKAT, 18 -- died instantly in the crash.
A... Names AH... Names AHL... Names Welcome Home
AHLOWALIA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2007-01-07 published
Head-on collision kills 2 teens, police officer
Van carrying teens crossed into oncoming lane on Major Mackenzie
Drive, crashing into off-duty York Region police officer's car
early yesterday
By Thulasi
SRIKANTHAN,
Staff
Reporter with files from Meghan
WATERS and Nick
KYONKA
Every▼
Christmas,
York Region police officer Davis
AHLOWALIA would
buy and gift-wrap hundreds of boxes of chocolates, then drive
to Nathan Phillips Square to hand them out to the homeless.
It was typical behaviour for the 28-year-old police officer,
who helped raise funds for an orphanage in Jamaica and worked
to feed the poor in Calcutta.
But yesterday, the man who worked hard to build a better life
for others was killed in a head-on collision after a van travelling
in the opposite direction crossed into his lane.
Two teenage boys from the van were also killed in the accident,
near Major Mackenzie and Pine Valley Drives in Vaughan. A third
passenger in the van is in critical condition at Sunnybrook Hospital.
Police yesterday tentatively identified
AHLOWALIA.
One of the
vehicles was registered in his name.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet because he is just so full of life
and I can't imagine that would be taken away so quickly," said
his sister-in-law Alisia
D'SILVA. "He is one of the pillars of
this family. It's going to be so quiet in this house. He has
always been so full of life, he walks into the door and you know
he's there 'cause he is always laughing."
Police remembered
AHLOWALIA as a humanitarian with a warm heart.
"This is truly a tragedy that someone so young with so much to
give is gone," said York Police Chief Armand LA
BARGE.
In the last few hours of his life,
D'SILVA says
AHLOWALIA was
with her and one of his older brothers. They spent the evening
having dinner and joking around.
"We were reminiscing about our childhoods and growing up in Indian
families and joking about pranks we used to get into and the
trouble we used to get into with our parents," she said.
AHLOWALIA's final stop before he left to drive home was the house
of his sister-in-law's parents in York Region.
"I hugged him goodnight and went inside and he talked to his
brother for a bit and got back in the car and that was it and
then a couple of hours later, we got a call that he was gone,"
she said.
The youngest of three brothers, he grew up in a devout Catholic
family. He planned to become a priest but left after a year to
pursue a career in the force.
"Any sort of injustice he just couldn't stand for it, he wouldn't
just sit back there and think about it, he'd get out there and
do something about it."
Last October, he flew to India to work with Mother Teresa's charity,
where he bought food for the homeless and cared for the mentally
handicapped. His vacations were spent volunteering. "He's done
more in his 28 years than most people would have in 90 years,"
D'SILVA said. "He has lived his life and he has touched so many
people in that short time."
A... Names AH... Names AHL... Names Welcome Home
AHLOWALIA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2007-01-08 published
'Kings of hearts' killed in crash
By Isabel TEOTONIO,
Henry
STANCU, Joanna
SMITH, Staff reporters
They were known as the "kings of hearts," three Friends who were
inseparable.
But on Saturday that came to a deadly end when the van they were
in on Major Mackenzie Doctor in Vaughan unaccountably drifted into
a lane of oncoming traffic and hit a car being driven by an off-duty
York Region police officer.
Waleed SHAUKAT, 17, and his friend Sulman
YUSAF, 19, were killed,
along with the police officer, Davis
AHLOWALIA, 28. The third
teen, identified as Mohammed
MATTU, 19, was in a coma last night.
It was a devastating end for what was supposed to be a fun night
out celebrating a friend's birthday, said relatives of
SHAUKAT,
one of the teens pronounced dead on the scene.
"All three of these guys were kings -- kings of hearts -- they
always had a smile and they all made people happy," said Waleed's
older brother Omar
SHAUKAT at the family home in Maple last night.
He described his younger brother as a happy teenager. "He had
his whole life ahead of him, he was hard-working, helped out
at home and everyone in this area knew him and loved him."
Waleed's father, Ali
SHAUKAT, last saw his son Friday afternoon.
The teen had just cashed his cheque from Tim Hortons and showed
up at home with $420 in cash.
As was customary, the teen handed over all of his money to his
mother and said, "Don't worry, mom, I'm young and I'll take care
of you," recalled the father. Then he asked his father for $5
so that his wallet wouldn't be empty when he went out with Friends
that night.
But the fun night out ground to a deadly halt around 3: 30 a.m.
on Major Mackenzie Dr., west of Pine Valley Dr., when a minivan
carrying the teens crashed head-on into a Honda Civic driven
by AHLOWALIA.
Both cars burst into flames.
SHAUKAT and
YUSAF were pronounced
dead at the scene. Their friend, Mattu, was rushed to hospital
and was in a coma last night. Also dead at the scene was
AHLOWALIA,
a 2½-year veteran with the force.
Yesterday, as police continued their investigation, relatives
of the teens were struggling to make sense of the horrific crash.
"We are all still in shock," said Ali
SHAUKAT, as relatives gathered
to comfort the grieving family at their home.
"Waleed was very lovely and very caring," said the father, recalling
the generosity of a son who worked full-time to pay the family's
rent. "He was the only person taking care of the family… He always
respected all of his elders."
The teen was supporting both his parents, his 22-year-old brother
Omar, and sisters Sara, 16, and Fyzah 9, said the father.
His uncle, Ahmed
MURID, remembered him as a "very friendly guy"
with "lots of Friends" who always "worked hard" and still managed
to find time to volunteer in the community.
The▼ elder
SHAUKAT said he believed the trio of teens, who met
in high school, may have been out celebrating
MATTU's birthday.
He said he did not know the circumstances surrounding the accident
but believed
YUSAF was the driver of the van. The father said
his son dreamed of one day finishing high school and going to
university.
In an online Web portfolio posted by Waleed
SHAUKAT when he was
15, the teen lists his hobbies as travelling, listening to rap
and bhangra music, playing basketball with Friends and going
to the cinema. He also writes that he loves watching scary movies
at night, meeting new people and chatting on the Internet with
Friends and family around the world.
Last night, relatives at the
SHAUKAT household said they were
mystified by television news reports in the afternoon that
MATTU
had died in hospital, particularly since some had gone to visit
him in the evening. Family of the two other teens could not be
reached last night.
A... Names AH... Names AHL... Names Welcome Home
AHLOWALIA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2007-01-09 published
Crash claims 'a true hero'
York officer's beat reached from orphans in Jamaica to the poor
in Calcutta slums
By Jim WILKES,
Staff
Reporter
Davis AHLOWALIA's family has locked hearts with kin of a teenager
who drove the van that crashed into the 28-year-old off-duty
York Region police officer's car and killed him Saturday.
AHLOWALIA,
Waleed
SHAUKAT, 17, and his friend Sulman
YUSAF, 19,
all died in the inferno that engulfed the vehicles on Major Mackenzie
Dr. in Vaughan. A third van occupant, Mohammed
MATTU, 19, is
in a coma in hospital.
"When two families get together to mourn the loss of two young
children, there's not many words that can be said, but tears,"
Anil AHLOWALIA,
Davis's older brother, told reporters crammed
into the family room of his parents' home in Richmond Hill yesterday.
"As our family grieves the loss of a true Canadian hero, our
condolences go out to the
SHAUKAT and
YUSAF families, who have
also lost part of their families. We are keeping the
MATTU family
in our prayers during this time."
AHLOWALIA's family had gathered, not to dwell on his death, but
to tell the community of his great charitable work that took
him around the world.
Anil spoke of the Jamaican orphanage his brother had championed,
even winning support of the police force for his efforts, and
of his deeds for the poor in Calcutta last year.
"With the help of God we are trying to come to terms with the
loss of a great man," he said.
"We mourn his sudden death, but more importantly, we celebrate
the life of a man who gave of himself unconditionally, to his
family, his Friends and everyone he met.
"(Davis's) love for family and Friends was only contested by
his love for serving the poor and the unfortunate. Among his
role models were Mother Teresa, John Paul II and our mother."
His parents, Anna and Rishi, wiped away tears as York police
Chief Armand LA
BARGE said the force would do everything it can
to grow AHLOWALIA's efforts in Jamaica and help "those in their
most desperate hour of need."
AHLOWALIA had been a constable 2½ years, but LA
BARGE said he'd
had an effect on "the entire global community.
"Davis had a sense of humanity and compassion that exceeded most
people's in this world," the chief said. "Davis was always looking
for somebody that needed a helping hand."
LA BARGE pointed to
AHLOWALIA's work in Jamaica and Calcutta,
"helping young people, helping children that are stricken with
poverty and disease, suffering with Human Immunodeficiency Virus
and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, helping seniors that
had basically, as he put it, been discarded by society.
"To me it's like losing a son. Davis was more than just a police
officer, to me Davis was a friend. He inspired all of us to do
more from a Christian perspective."
Anil said his brother touched many lives.
"We are proud of our brother for fulfilling his dreams and helping
so many people in so little time," he said. "As a family, we
pray that Davis's senseless death will not be meaningless, that
this young man's life of charity and generosity will inspire
all of us to love unconditionally, to give generously and to
live life to the fullest."
He read from a letter family members had found after
AHLOWALIA
died, a letter he had been too modest to share.
In it, the mother of a 23-year-old woman told how compassionate
AHLOWALIA had been when he went to her home after her daughter
had attempted suicide.
It was, Anil said, just the kind of thing their mother -- "the
pillar of our family" -- had taught her sons, to "give 'til it
hurts, to practise your faith.
"She's an exceptional lady, she's unbelievable and Davis took
everything she said and lived it."
Visitation for
AHLOWALIA will be at Chapel Ridge Funeral Home
on Woodbine Ave. in Markham on Thursday from 1-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m.
The funeral will be at Saint Mary Immaculate Church in Richmond
Hill at 11 a.m. Friday.
A... Names AH... Names AHL... Names Welcome Home
AHLOWALIA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2007-01-13 published
Bidding farewell to a kind soul
Family chose simple, unadorned casket, befitting the humble nature
of officer who helped so many
By Christian
COTRONEO, staff reporter with files from Joanna
SMITH,
Page B3
The casket Anil
AHLOWALIA chose for his younger brother Davis
was oak, without stain or ornament.
It was much like one the brothers had seen on television more
than a year ago for the burial of Pope John Paul II.
"We saw this simple casket and we said, 'That's the way people
should be buried -- humbleness, right to the hour of death and
beyond,'" Anil recalled.
So when the
AHLOWALIA family had to choose a casket for Davis,
they looked past the ornate, expensive models.
"We saw one that was just oak," Anil said. "No stain. No glamour.
It was made for Davis."
Only it was made too early.
Davis AHLOWALIA was killed on January 6, 2007, when an oncoming
van unaccountably swerved into his lane on Major Mackenzie Doctor in
Vaughan. The 28-year-old York Regional Police officer was off
duty at the time.
In all, the fiery crash claimed four victims. The driver of the
van, Waleed
SHAUKAT, 17, and 19-year-old passenger Sulman
YUSAF
died on the scene.
The▲ driver's mother, Mansoora
SHAUKAT, said yesterday in a telephone
interview that she was sorry to learn her son's other close friend,
Muhammed MATTU, had succumbed to his injuries Thursday night
after spending the week in hospital in critical condition.
"A very cute boy, Muhammed," she said.
She remembers the 17-year-old, whose family she said lives in
the Peace Village neighbourhood of Maple, Ontario, often coming
home with her son to watch movies or eat pizza in the basement.
"They were very close Friends, all three -- Muhammed, Sulman
and Waleed."
Yesterday 1,000 mourners -- more than the church could bear --
attended the funeral for the fallen officer.
For a few frozen moments, traffic along a bustling four-block
stretch of Yonge St. in Richmond Hill was hushed. Police officers
held cars at bay. The soft strains of a devotional hymn floated
outside Saint Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic Church.
Scores more officers -- Royal Canadian Mounted Police in scarlet
and polished leather riding boots, York Regional Police in red-brimmed
caps and Ontario Provincial Police officers in full regalia --
lined the church steps outside. When the oak casket emerged,
they held a long salute, bidding a final farewell to one of their
own.
"Although he only served for a short time, he made an incredible
impact on our community," said York Regional Police Chief Armand
LA BARGE after the service. "Every human contact, every radio
call, every interaction that he had, he brought his Christian
values to the forefront and helped people."
A fervent Christian,
AHLOWALIA travelled to impoverished regions
of the world whenever he could, persuading his fellow officers
to lend a hand to an orphanage in Jamaica, and helping the poor
in Calcutta, India.
Parents and older brothers joined a grim procession of family,
following the casket down the church steps. "Today, I had the
difficult task of burying my brother," said Anil
AHLOWALIA, his
voice breaking, as he spoke after the funeral. "It's one of the
hardest things I've ever had to do in my life."
Chris GRANT, who attended Saint Michael's College School with
AHLOWALIA,
joined about 100 former schoolmates and teachers at the service,
many wearing their school ties in memory of the departed.
"I mostly remember him walking around on game days, wearing his
football jersey,"
GRANT said. "He was very proud to be on the
team."
GRANT recalled his schoolmate wanted to be a priest -- "but decided
to serve his community in a different way."
That desire led
AHLOWALIA to police college, where he met Ryan
STEVENSON, also training to be an officer.
"He would always take time out of his day to stop and say hello,
ask how you are and how your family is," said
STEVENSON, now
a special constable with York Regional Police.
Even▲ then, it was obvious that
AHLOWALIA's ambitions went beyond
the badge. "He used policing as a springboard into what he did
in the community," said
STEVENSON.
Indeed, during the hiring process,
AHLOWALIA was asked why he
wanted to become a police officer -- and, according to Chief
LA BARGE, he answered, "to help people in the most need."
A... Names AH... Names AHL... Names Welcome Home
AHLOWALIA - All Categories in OGSPI