Trevor John Thompson

Trevor John Thompson, 87, of Lehigh Acres, Florida, passed away on Thursday, December 12, 2024, following a brief illness. Trevor is preceded in death by his parents, Egbert and Elma Lewis, brothers Samuel and Ralph, and sisters Venus and Winnifred.

Trevor was born in Georgetown, St. Vincent. He was the third of eight children in the Lewis family. As a young boy, Trevor was adopted by his maternal Aunt, Patience Christobell Thompson and her husband, Reverend Claude Thompson. The Thompsons were church missionaries, which led to a relocation to Trinidad, followed by Aruba, where he was educated and learned to speak and write fluent Dutch. In 1957, the Thompsons migrated to Brooklyn, New York. Upon his arrival to the United States, Trevor began working in the evenings and attended the New York School of Visual Arts. After graduation, Trevor enlisted in the US Army, where he was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Fort Hamilton, New York and a foreign assignment in Germany. He was honorably discharged in 1963 and returned to New York to pursue a graphic arts career.

Trevor’s career pursuits eventually led him to Detroit, Michigan. His first professional role was at LTV (Ling-Temco-Vought) Aerospace Corporation in Warren, Michigan. Following LTV, he worked in the automotive industry for over 40 years as a graphic and technical illustrator, providing diagrams and blueprint drawings to the design and engineering teams. He worked at General Motors for 12 years and Ford Motor Company for 27 years, before retiring in 2006. During his early days in Detroit, Trevor was one of very few artists of color hired as a technical illustrator. He was a high performing artist and continued to evolve with technology changes over his career. He easily migrated from using traditional drafting ellipses to digital illustration, becoming one of the first in his department to understand and leverage the capabilities of Adobe Illustrator and new emerging software. In addition to his work as an illustrator, he was an avid photographer. He supplemented his income to support his growing family with photographic services for birthdays, weddings, and special events. He was a true artisan, and often engaged his family in silk screen t-shirt production for a variety of events including family reunions and group performances.

As Trevor became more established in his new life as a U.S. citizen, he assisted countless relatives in the legal sponsorship and migration to America. Today, dozens of US citizens in the New York City and Detroit-area were able to create new lives in the United States with Trevor’s transitional support over the past 40 years.

Trevor had a passion for nature and music. He enjoyed spending time outdoors, traveling, baking, and spending time with family. After retirement, he returned to his homeland, St. Vincent, to live in his dream home and become a full-time entrepreneur. He enjoyed opening a souvenir shop, Pier Graphics and Gifts, at the Cruise Ship Terminal in Kingstown, St. Vincent. Trevor’s offerings included hand-made artwork and photography, often featuring nature, people, and places from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He enjoyed meeting tourists from around the world and sharing his artwork for 10 years, until he decided to return to the US in 2016.

Trevor is survived by his partner, Mary, whom he was married to for 42 years. He is also survived by his children, Sydney (Teresa), Sonya (Enoma), Yvette (Shawn), Yvonne, Trevor Emile (Katie), and Lewis. Grandchildren Tamar, Nia (Isaiah), Jeremy, Odosa, Osagie, Lauren, Quinn, Miles, and Lauralie, great grandchildren Tamani, Tamar Jr., sister Veda, brothers Emery and Edison, and host of cousins, nieces, nephews and other family members.

Trevor, affectionately known as “TT”, always wearing his signature beret, will be greatly missed.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, December 21, 2024 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m., with services at 1:00 p.m., Hodges Funeral Home at Lee Memorial Park 12777 State Road 82, Fort Myers, Florida 33913. In honor of TT, you are welcome to wear your favorite beret. Repass to follow at the Hodges Funeral Home. Interment will be private.

The Funeral Service on Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 1:00pm will be available to watch online via livestream by visiting this link: https://youtube.com/live/RiycnYthW4Y?feature=share