Inventor of ‘Ducking’ Jeeps dies
By simply leaving a rubber duck on a stranger’s Jeep in 2020, Allison Parliament brought smiles to people around the world by starting the “ducking” trend, in which people leave rubber ducks on Jeeps they appreciate. Now, organizers of Butler’s Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival will have a hard time not tearing up when seeing rubber ducks in their own Jeeps.
Parliament, who is originally from Orillia, Ontario, Canada, died June 22, according to a Facebook post from her mother, Cheryl Parliament. According to the post, Allison died peacefully at home.
Patti Jo Lambert, director of the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival, initially heard of Allison’s death on Facebook, but it wasn’t until she got a call from Cheryl that she believed the news.
Lambert said she had become close with Allison over the three consecutive years she attended the Jeep festival, and constantly texted with her to keep in touch while Allison toured the country for her nonprofit, Duck Duck Jeep. Allison attended Butler’s Jeep Invasion on June 7, where she gave out and autographed rubber ducks outside the Penn Theater.
One of the last texts Lambert received from Allison said she planned to return to the Jeep Invasion in 2025, hopefully with a rubber duck made in her likeness. Lambert said Allison left behind a legacy of positivity, which showed through her outreach and her personality.
“She texted me the picture of a duck that has been designed somewhat in her likeness. She was so excited that it was going to be unveiled in August,” Lambert said. “We texted last Monday, and she was telling me she had such a great time and was definitely planning to come back in 2025. That was my last interaction with her, and it was so positive and so happy.”
Allison started a movement in 2020, when she placed a rubber duck on a stranger’s Jeep as a humorous and kind gesture. “Nice Jeep,” was written on the duck’s underside. Over the following years, she has traveled North America in her 2018 yellow Rubicon giving out rubber ducks and autographs in hopes of making people smile.
In addition to starting a movement, Allison’s gesture started Duck Duck Jeep, a nonprofit that has spread to dozens of countries. More than 60,000 people have documented their participation in the new tradition.
In May, Allison explained her motive behind ducking her first Jeep.
“I started it after I was assaulted, and I wanted to make people smile, and people were afraid of people coming to Canada because of COVID,” Parliament said in May. “I got caught doing it, and the gentleman who caught me thought it was hysterical and said I should put it on social. I did, and it took off.”
Allison was one of the first people to duck Sara Losco’s Jeep Wrangler. Losco, another organizer of the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival, said she also became close with Allison after meeting her for the event’s activities.
Losco said Allison was always able to find the bright side of a situation, which rubbed off on the people around her.
“Very warm and open-hearted, willing to give anyone a hug,” Losco said. “She could be having the crappiest day, and she never hesitated to smile. She never tried to hide, avoid people; she embraced everything and went along with it.”
Brian Goss, a member of the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival planning committee, said that although Allison lived in another country, she remained connected with many of the organizers of the festival. Goss also said he saw Allison go out of her way to greet people during the Jeep Invasion.
“No matter what she was doing, she just stopped to help people,” Goss said. “The people that girl met, she just did not forget you. Just a selfless kind-hearted person.”
When it came to Jeeps, Allison didn’t just talk the talk, she walked the walk. Allison was known to point out Jeep makes or even individual features she enjoyed, which is how the ducking trend started in the first place.
Lambert led Allison on a drive at Bantam Quarry at Kildoo, which is a rugged trail Jeep drivers take on as an obstacle course during the festival.
“She was an experienced off-roader, enjoyed being in her Jeep,” Lambert said.
Robert Beatty, of Fredonia, met Allison at this year’s Jeep Invasion, and said he was immediately struck by her happy demeanor. Beatty brought with him a large rubber duck that was attached to the top of his 1999 Jeep, and he had to wait for Allison to come out to sign it.
After waiting a few minutes, Allison ventured out to Beatty’s Jeep to sign the duck and posed for a photo with him.
“She was very, very nice,” Beatty said. “I sat with her mother and dog, Ducky. It’s just so sad she’s gone.”
Cheryl’s Facebook post about Allison’s death urged Jeep lovers across the world to flood Duck Duck Jeep’s Facebook page with images of rubber ducks to honor Allison’s memory. As of Tuesday afternoon, June 25, hundreds of people have left messages on Allison’s personal Facebook page paying her tribute.
Lambert said although Allison is gone, she will be remembered every time someone places a rubber duck on a Jeep.
“The fact that this grew into a global phenomenon and it spread so quickly, what a legacy that she has created,” Lambert said. “To have that type of a legacy and your whole goal in the world is to spread kindness, I think that is something everyone would want to leave behind.”
