Allison and her husband, NASCAR Hall of
Famer Bobby Allison, were married for 55 years, shouldering more sadness and
heartbreak than most couples could endure in a hundred lifetimes. Bobby claimed
84 checkered flags in NASCAR’s top division – still third-best on the all-time
list -- before his career came to a shattering end in June of 1988 at Pocono
Raceway. An exploding tire sent his Buick spinning in Pocono’s high-speed
Tunnel Turn, where he was hit in the door by journeyman Jocko Maggiacomo. The track’s safety team used the "Jaws of Life"
to extricate the unconscious Allison from his battered machine, and he was
airlifted to the Lehigh Valley Hospital, where he lingered in a coma for weeks.
Doctors put a steel rod in Allison's shattered left leg and opened his skull to
relieve swelling on the brain; battling to save his life.
Two weeks after the accident, Bobby still had not spoken
a word, and while the coma eventually lifted, long months of rehabilitation lay
ahead.
"For two solid months, I couldn't add two and
two," recalls Allison today. "I was conscious, but I had no idea who
was who or where I was or what year it was. I sat and cried, like a two-year old.
The world was really mixed up to me. I was mad that they let me live."
Judy was by his side through it all; sitting vigil at his
bedside, cheering the triumphs – as she always had -- and minimizing the
failures.
She
seemed indestructible in those days, displaying a rock-solid stoicism that
served her well in the dark days of Bobby’s recovery, and in the even-darker
days to come.
In
August of 1992, just as she and Bobby had begun to right themselves, youngest
son Clifford Allison died in a NASCAR Busch Series practice crash at Michigan International Speedway, pinwheeling driver-side
first into a concrete retaining wall and dying en route to the hospital. Once
again, Bobby and Judy braced themselves against fate, stumbling through the
unfathomable grief as best they could.
Then, just 11 months later, came the
final blow. Eldest son Davey – a NASCAR superstar cut from his father’s mold --
died in a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway. Tragedy sent the Allison
family reeling once again, as Bobby and Judy grasped to understand what they could
ever have done to deserve such heartbreak.
Burying
two sons – and Bobby’s own career – was too much for even the towering Allisons
to bear. Finally overwhelmed by grief, Bobby and Judy drifted apart, eventually
divorcing. They spoke little, if at all, for a very long time, as each
attempted to chart their own course through the hurt, making sense of the loss
in their own private way.
Their
estrangement was not to last, however. And ironically, it took death to repair
what death had torn asunder.
In May
of 2000, Adam Petty died in a horrifying practice crash at New Hampshire Motor
Speedway. Like Davey Allison, Adam was the heir-apparent to one of NASCAR’s greatest
family dynasties. Bobby and Judy were together that day – or at least in the
same place -- attending the wedding of
Davey's widow, Liz, in Nashville. As news broke of Adam’s crash, Judy
Allison knew that the time for silence had passed.
She approached her ex-husband, saying, “the Pettys need
our help.” They quickly agreed to make the eight-hour drive to Adam’s North
Carolina funeral together, and as the miles clicked past, a remarkable
reconciliation occurred. No one knows what was said during that drive; what
wounds were closed and apologies made. But at the end of it all, Bobby and Judy
Allison were together again.
The Allisons were rarely apart in recent years. Reunited
in marriage, they were once again “Bobby and Judy;” a single entity, instead of
two individuals. They had weathered the storm and found their way back to safe
harbor, or so it seemed.
In recent months, word came of Judy’s latest battle; a
struggle with breast cancer. The diagnosis was serious, but not terminal. With
proper treatment, her prognosis was encouraging, and late last month, she quietly
underwent surgery. Post-operative complications proved too much to overcome,
however, and Bobby, daughters Bonnie and Carrie, grandson Robbie,
brother-in-law Donnie and Donnie’s wife, Pat found themselves saying their
final goodbyes to a woman that they – and so many of us – loved dearly.
NASCAR issued a statement on Judy's passing, calling her
“the matriarch of a cornerstone NASCAR family (who) provided the foundation for
the careers of a legendary husband and two sons who both lost their lives
entirely too soon. Her love extended well beyond her own family, as many in the
NASCAR family leaned upon Judy for support and compassion during many difficult
times. We are deeply saddened by the loss of a true friend, and a woman who has
given much to our sport."
Bobby
Allison will continue on, as he always has, wrapped in the loving embrace of a
community that is struggling once again to accept the harsh realities of life. The Allison
Family will chart a new course, as they always do, moving forward without the
compass that guided them so well, for so long, through so many troubled seas.
Rest
in peace, Judy. You will be missed.
Heartbreaking the burden that this woman, and family, had to bear. She will be missed greatly.
ReplyDeleteForever. A word not used much today. Forever. Judy Allison will forever be known as stoic, loving, and Bobby's wife. I hope Bobby weathers this storm.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave.
ReplyDeleteJudy Allison was a class act (as was Bobby). The woman endured incredible grief and found her inner courage to continue onward.
That she was at Liz's 2nd marriage says a ton... Liz too suffered thru an unfair hell.
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This whole story sucks but it's simple proof that the most common of us can rise to be greater than we deserve.
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Maybe Clifford will giver her a big welcome home hug and Davey will giver her a kiss... with Neil behind them telling them, "... or else!"
Wonderful tribute to one of the most amazing persons it was my pleasure to know. Thanks Dave.
ReplyDeleteThe Allisons are a class-act all families would do well to follow. God rest Judys soul in his lovig arms!!!
ReplyDelete