Denise Patricia Arnold Battley was called home on Sunday, Oct. 3. Born Aug. 14, 1957, on St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, “Bahama Mama,” as she was known to many, lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, most of her adult life, where she raised her two daughters: Kamika and Marguerite Illidge; son, Alberic V. Illidge Jr.; and grandchildren: Ja’Khari Tolliver, Anaya and Mekiah Illidge.
Survivors include her husband, Norman Battley Jr.; sister, Delores Mcbean; brother, Elroy Williams; uncle, Ezekiel Walters; aunts: Hulda and Norma Walters; sister-in-law, Evelyn Mason; brother-in-law, Elvin Smith; former husband, Alberic V. Illidge Sr.; and a host of nieces, nephews and friends. She was preceded in death by her mother, Helen Walters; father, Raymond Arnold; brother, Vincent Mason; sister, Pauline Smith; and brother-in-law, Charles Mcbean.