CLARENDON, Jamaica — “I love you O’Neil, everything ago be alright” were the last words he heard from his wife shortly before she was induced into a coma to relieve her pain. Now struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife Denese, O’Neil Whyte said there isn’t another woman who will be able to match up to her.

“Mi feel seh there was only one good woman and now she gone,” he said noting that there isn’t one person who had anything bad to say about her.  

Denese Coke-Whyte, died Wednesday afternoon as a result of burns she received when her home caught fire sometime after 3:00 am Tuesday morning. According to her husband, contrary to what was previously reported, she was inside the house when the fire started searching frantically for the children when she was trapped in the inferno.

Read: Do not enter burning buildings, fire chief cautions in wake of house blaze

“I would like to know where they got that story from. My wife would never do something like that because it makes no sense. She went to the back room searching for the kids when the A/C exploded and that’s how she got trapped inside. It’s the neighbours dem who dig off the grill and help get her out,” he explained. She was taken to the May Pen Hospital and was later transferred to the Kingston Public Hospital where she died.

“You see me wife, every person love her, she was always smiling. Mi never see my wife and she have a bad day. Never. You know how some people will get moody and vex, not my wife, me never see her like that. She was more than a special person to me,” said Whyte.

Although they have been together over five years, it has been a little over two years since they have been married. Whyte said just two months into the relationship he asked her to marry him and she agreed. 

“She took my son who is now 14-year-old from he was in grade four as her own. He wasn’t doing well in school then and now he is on a full five year scholarship at Vere Technical High school and a she make him get it, just to show you how good she was with him and how much she loved him,” he said. The four-year-old toddler who was also in injured in the incident was her adopted child. She remains in hospital. 

“We never had an argument where we had to shout at each other, we never went to bed mad at each other we never sleep head and tail, she was just a gentle, loving and caring person and I always supported and motivated her, no matter what she wanted to do. If she wanted to build a plane mi say alright babes come, if it work a so, if it no work a so,” he added.

Whyte said his wife served in the United States Army and upon returning home, served on the board at the HEART TRUST NSTA. In addition, she had multiple jobs that she operated online which included training interested persons to become entrepreneurs while she worked at eDerma Beauty Services, was a team member at Amway and was a very active member in church.

“She had lots of big dreams, she was even planning to open an online school for young mothers who got pregnant and was interested in furthering their education” he said.

Others who were close to Coke-Whyte also remembered her as a good person who always wanted the best for others, which is even more than she wanted for herself.  Junior Sobriety who is a Minister at the Church of God of Prophecy Bustamante Highway -where Coke Whyte was a member- joined community members in Mineral Heights at the burnt out residence late Friday evening, in tribute to the deceased.

“She was a very special person in the community. She was a very special person to us in the work place and the business team that we worked with and therefore we thought it fitting to have this floral tribute in her honour just to express our love and how deeply saddened we are by her passing. She was a very sweet soul, someone who will want to get the best out of everybody, pushing you to be the best you can be and often will say I wonder if I want more for each individual than I really want for myself and I think we could say that was her motto, she wanted so much more for you than she wanted for herself,” he told OBSERVER ONLINE.

“She had served selflessly and volunteered to do a lot of stuff around the community and for the team. I think we have lost a very sweet soul. She was somebody that you could use every good English adjective to describe. She was good, worthwhile, caring and loving she was that good a person. It was suggested by a member of our business team that we start a charity in her honour and contribute towards making a burn unit for Jamaica because maybe, just maybe she would have made it if there was a burn unit, but God knows everything best, we are not here to complain but to honour her memory,” said the minister.

Minister Joy Easy also described her as a lovely person.

“On Sunday while moderating the service, I called Denese to give her testimony and she gave such a wonderful testimony. She talked about how the pandemic has allowed her to get closer to God, she said she was able to read her bible more, she was able to pray more, she was able to fast more and it had brought her so much closer to God. She was excited to see us as she was out of parish and we were also excited to see her and I know that none of us thought that would have been the last time we would hear Denese’s voice or see her.  I feel confident that she is at rest and she is at peace and she is with her saviour and I have no doubt in my mind especially after listening to that testimony on Sunday. So as hard as it is for everybody, just rest assured that Denese is with the Lord and although we feel the pain, my heart goes out to her husband and family,” Easy said.