The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
June 5, 2019

Hon. Pawoh Allison Tarlue Nov. 23, 1942–March 22, 2019

On March 22, 2019, Honorable Pawoh Allison Tarlue died at his home in Clemson, South Carolina, after a brief illness. He was 76.  On behalf of the Gebrier Roberts family, I extend my sincere condolences to the family and friends of this remarkable man.

Because of the policy of the Jehovah Church of which P. Allison Tarlue was a member, the church did not return his body to the family for burial.  Instead, the family held a memorial service on May 18, 2019, at 175 Oaklawn Avenue in Cranston, Rhode Island.  

 Pawoh Allison Tarlue was born on November 23, 1942, to Madam Koilar-Jomah and Oldman Pawoh of Zuajah Town in Gbarzon, Tchien District #2, Eastern Providence.   The parents named him “Sorl” or “Rock” because of his robustness as a baby and the sturdiness he displayed as a toddler. Growing up, he was a good wrestler.

        I first met Sorl when I went with my mother to visit her friend in Zuajah Town.  Sorl was at the entrance of the town demanding that all visiting boys his age salute him before entering the town, or he would toss them on the ground. Timid, I saluted before he could let me go with my mother. From that day, I dared not to follow my mother to Zuajah Town.

In 1952, our parents sent us to Zwedru to attend school so that one day, “someone would carry us in hammocks as they did the District Commissioners (D.Cs.).” We were to attend the Tubman Wilson Institute (TWI) elementary school. During our first week in school, I met “Sorl” again. He had assumed the name David Pawoh, but we always called him “Sorl.” I remember two events during our first week of school.

          TWI was having its first graduation, and the principal invited us to attend. John Garley, the first graduate, gave a speech that spurred us on to continue schooling.  He defined each alphabet, and David Pawoh kept a copy of the speech until we were promoted to the second grade. David Pawoh would come to class and read his favorite definitions to us. He loved “C - Cut your court according to your measurement,” and “G - Generosity defines a complete man.”   David Pawoh believed in self-confidence and generosity.

          Then, the next day, at class-break, a group of angry Tchien boys attacked us because they did not want “bush” boys at their school. Scared, we ran in all directions to avoid the angry mob, but P. Alison arrived on the scene to save us. One by one, David mowed the attackers down with his wrestling skills.  After that day, we adorned David Pawoh as our big brother.

        The 1953-1955 school years went well, but in 1956, the Department of Education changed the school season from British to American, and we were promoted to the second grade. The Second-grade teacher found David Pawoh had good handwriting skills, so he appointed him secretary of our class and later president. We went to the third grade at the end of the year.  When classes resumed in 1957, Allison did not return to school, and I did not see him again until in early 1963 when I went to Monrovia for high school.

       One morning I went job hunting at Viannini Construction Company on its Executive Mansion construction site when I bumped into David Pawoh.  He was on his way to class at the Laboratory High School on the LU campus. We embraced and hugged. It was a surprise to meet again after many years.

           Before we parted, David told me he was no longer called David Pawoh.  He was staying with his uncle Benson Tarlue and had assumed his name: “I am no longer David Pawoh. I am now Pawoh Allison Tarlue but call me P. Allison Tarrlue,” he said.  From that moment, our friendship resumed, and the name P. Allison Tarlue struck.

               P. Alison attended Laboratory High School (Tubman High School) but did not graduate because he had to work in the morning, and Lab High held classes during the morning hours.
             It is difficult for me to lose such a wonderful man. P. Alison was always there when I needed someone. When I graduated from high school in 1966, he was there to cheer for me and put up a huge graduation party for me that week. When I asked him to help send my fiancée to me in New York, he did not hesitate to do so. After the Coup of 1980, P. Allison told me not to return to Liberia as the political condition there was not conducive.

             When he left Lab High, P. Alison secured his first paying job, as a bookkeeper at the Tradevco Bank in 1969. After four years at Tradevco, KLM Airlines hired him as assistant regional manager in 1974.  He was at KLM when President Doe appointed him Deputy Commissioner of Immigration in 1986, the time when corruption in Government was at its peaks.   Even President Doe had lamented, “Corruption is everywhere. I don’t know who to trust anymore.”  But P. Allison refused to take bribes. Instead, he would tell those who wanted to bribe him to deposit the money into the Internal Revenue and bring him flag receipts.

         Because of P. Allision’s refusal to take bribes, his coworkers taunted him that he would die poor when other coworkers were cashing in.  But P. Allison did not budge. He held his ground and stayed on at the Bureau of Immigration, untainted until the Civil Wars forced him out of the country. He later came to the United States.

           In the United States, P. Allison lived in Providence, Rhode Island. I visited him there two times. Then he moved to Bensalem in Pennsylvania.  While in Bensalem, P. Allison visited me in New York City several times.  During all those visits, we reminisced our years in Zwedru and Monrovia; talked about Liberian politics and what the political future held for Grand Gedeans after Samuel Doe.

         After P. Allison married his wife, Martha, he moved with her to 682 West Johnson Street in Philadelphia where he joined the Jehovah Witness Church. I visited the couple several times, but the memory of one visit still lingers in my mind.
           On a Saturday, he was to drop me off at the train station, but he had to go to the Kingdom Hall.  When he came back, he apologized for making me late for work, but he had to go wherever his Jehovah wanted him to go.
         “Brother, my Jehovah first,” he said. “If I died, the Church would bury my soulless frame, and Jehovah would take my soul straight to Heaven."
       So, P. Alison is in Heaven now.  It’s hard to think that we will not get to see him anymore. He is in a better place, looking down at us and smiling. He is saying, “Brother Gebrier, I told you so.  Don’t waste your time.  I am in Heaven now.”
               P. Alison, you may have left us, but your memory will live on in our hearts forever.  Good-bye, my “Rock.” We shall meet again someday.
Gebrier Roberts

Education: 

 Politics:

Organizations: 

 Pawoh Alison Tarlue’s parents predeceased him, and his  survivors include:

     His Wife: Martha

    Three sons: P. Allison Tarlue, Jr., Emmanuel Tarlue, and Prince Tarlue

    Three daughters: Julia Tarlue, Patient Tarlue, and Ajuah Tarlue

    Three sisters: Wreiblee Pawoh Stevens, Mary Pawoh Freeman, and  Helena Pawoh

    Two brothers: Joseph Pawoh and Chester Pawoh

    Thirteen foster children; a host of grandchildren; aunts, uncles, nephews, and nieces

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