Trevor Bond

Trevor Bond, age 82 passed away on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, June 22, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. at Church Archer Pasley Funeral Home, 119 East Franklin Street, Liberty, MO 64068, with a Meet & Greet time from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. before the service. Livestreaming of the Memorial Service will be available at Facebook.com/ChurchArcherPasley

My Memories of Trevor by Martha Bond

TREVOR BOND (January 7,1942 - May 29, 2024)

Trevor was born in Cheltenham, England on January 7, 1942 to Hilda and Calvin Bond. They had twelve children (Terry, Norma, Pamela, Colin, David, Trevor, Pat, Gwyn, Janet, Alan, Paul and Susie, in that order). Trevor enjoyed his childhood as he had lots of mates and was free to “run and play.”

His family moved to Salisbury, Rhodesia in 1957 via mail ship, making newspaper headlines not only in England, but in Rhodesia as well, as the largest family to immigrate. Trevor was uncertain of this strange, new country, so very different from his lifestyle in the U.K.. Fortunately for him, they had moved into a neighborhood where their new neighbors were also from England, and they had a son around the same age as Trevor, his name was Tom Henshaw. Trevor and Tom bonded and had a great friendship, they did everything together and therefore life in Rhodesia became bearable. Tom was called up to the military in 1959 and so Trevor decided to volunteer rather than wait for his “call up papers.” Trevor loved the army, he was in the Corp of Engineers and wanted to make this his lifelong career. Trevor had almost completed his military service when an incident occurred where he could not hear his name being called during roll call. He was disciplined and sent for medical workup and discovered he was deaf.

Unfortunately and sadly, due to his diagnosis, his military career came to an end. During Trevor’s military service, his parents had built a new house on Clee Drive and at the same time the Van Wyk family was also busy building their new home, right next door. Anna and Andries Van Wyk have five daughters (Martha, Tina, Ali, Patsy and Sophie) and with the Bond’s having seven sons, a romance between the boys and girls was inevitable.

The Bond’s and Van Wyk’s were neighbors from 1960 until November of 1964. During this time, Martha had befriended Trevor’s sister Janet and they would cycle together to catch the bus to school, and this is how Martha met Trevor.

Our Love Story

Trevor being the sweet person that he is, would often invite his younger siblings Gwyn and Janet to go on outings with him and I was lucky enough to be included. We would go to the Drive-In movies and on many a sunny Sunday afternoon, enjoy a picnic and swim at the many rivers. I had written a note and thanked Trevor for including me on his outings and stuck it on the steering wheel of his car, and told him I hope he didn't mind me writing to him. He promptly replied and said that he was thrilled to receive my note and he would be glad to receive any future notes, which of course I did, and so started our friendship. We would write to each other even though we lived right next door. We wrote many, many letters back and forth and a romance blossomed after a while. Trevor was a very, very special and respectful boyfriend. It took him several months to kiss me, and when he did, it was on the forehead. We would go walking around the block, which was two miles long, and the last hundred yards, he would pluck up the courage to hold my hand. What a gentleman!

Trevor and I were married in Rhodesia on September 19,1964. We were married three and a half months shy of our 60th Wedding Anniversary. I am eternally grateful for every one of those days. Trevor worked for two of the largest tobacco companies in Rhodesia. His trade was a Fitter and Turner, and he was brilliant at his job. Regardless of the machinery, Trevor had the knowledge of how it operated, how to repair it and how to fabricate parts for it. Trevor was well respected in his field and all his co-workers became his good mates. Trevor was not always the easiest person to get along with, especially on days when he had an attitude, but people were drawn to him and still loved him all the same.

Trevor was a great son-in-law. He had the utmost love and respect for my parents. He never referred to them as “your folks,” but rather as mom and dad. When my parents retired, he moved them into our home and took care of both of them (17 years of my father’s life and 22 years of my mother’s life), a very caring and dear son. As for my siblings, Trevor was their big brother and they were his little sisters.

As a father, Trevor was the best, an amazing father who adored his children. He did everything with his kids, and would not accept an invitation or go anywhere if his kids were not included. His son Andrew had asthma and his daughter Sandra had a congenital heart defect. A macho man with a tough exterior but when his children were ill, it would break his heart. Trevor took a lot of pride and joy in making and building toys for the kids. A large jungle gym, a foefie slide (zip line) and a seesaw that not only went up and down, but rotated as well. The kids spent countless hours playing on their dad’s inventions and everyone that visited, children and adults alike, thoroughly enjoyed them too. When it came to Christmas, Rhodesia was under sanctions and toys were impossible to purchase. No problem, Trevor would build items for his precious children. A two-story parking garage for Andrew and his “dinky” cars. We asked family and friends who visited from abroad to bring back dinky cars to fill his parking garage. Andrew loved this special gift and so did all the boys that visited. For Sandra, a double story pink and white dollhouse. We spent countless hours in the evenings building this while the kids were sleeping. Tina and I would wrap match boxes in material to use as furniture and think of other numerous items we would use to try and furnish this dollhouse. Sandra was beyond excited with this beautiful dollhouse that her daddy built her, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute playing with all the homemade items.

Trevor always played with his children and taught them every game that they played. We all played cards, darts on the veranda, lawn jarts, lawn bowls, croquette, tennis, snooker, table tennis and swimming (even though Trevor could not get his ears wet). And in true Trevor form, any other kids that visited were always included in the fun. He attended every sports day at school and cheered on his kids, a proud father. There were plenty of camping trips and all holidays were always planned around the children.

Trevor built his house in Rhodesia from the ground up. A beautiful, large brick house on acreage. His brother Paul and I layed out the design and he also drew up the plans. Trev would go every day after work to work on this labor of love with the help of some bricklayers. He had his mate from work, Ron Whitham, help him with the wiring/electrics. It took us five years to pay off this house and another two years to complete the finishing touches, but after seven years, the house was all ours. Trevor decided to take his little family on a trip to England to see his home town of Cheltenham and while we were at it, Athens in Greece. It was a wonderful experience for me as I had never left Africa and the kids were beyond excited, flying on a plane for the first time and being old enough to appreciate and enjoy the different cultures. Trevor was so proud of his house but when a political situation arose, we had no choice but to sell and cut our losses so as our children could have a future again.

In 1984, we moved to the USA where we bought an older home that Trevor completely remodeled to fit our needs. A home he loved and was very proud of. After five years, we got our citizenship and were proud Americans. He was proud to vote and enjoyed this country.

Trevor had struggled with Bipolar disorder and through the years it had gradually gotten worse. Trying to get doctors to listen and help was not easy, mental health was not a topic many doctors were versed in. Finally, we found Dr. Angela Oloman who took him under her wing and consoled Trevor and reassured him that he was not crazy, that this was a chemical imbalance that could be treated with medications. Under her supervised care, Trevor felt better and better and pretty soon he could not resist giving her a hug and telling her “Thank you for giving me my life back.” I am eternally grateful for what she did to make his life a better one, and so are his children.

My precious husband was my rock when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. He was at my side every inch of that terrible fight and sat with me through countless hours of chemotherapy. When my hair fell out, he shaved his head, he was such a great support. Thank you, nothing could ever separate our bond and love.

We traveled and visited most states, went on a cruise, traveled to several countries and islands and even reunited with his mate Tom Henshaw in Australia. We had planned a second trip back to Australia when Trevor started having indigestion problems which ultimately led to him having a triple bypass. Trevor never really recovered from this massive surgery, and 19 months after his surgery, he passed away peacefully in his sleep on May 29, 2024. Trevor was surrounded by his loving children and grandchildren.

My dearest beloved husband, you were my best friend, my lover, my soulmate, father of our children, and the love I felt for you and still do, is so deep that I feel my heart will never heal. The heartache and love will be there forever. I will think of you every single day, every single night, I will miss you so deeply. Thank you for all the years together, thank you, thank you for the love we shared. Thank you for being a wonderful father, the best ever! Then you became the best ever Oupa. How your grandchildren adored you. Nothing was ever too much of a bother. You were always there for them. Then you were Oupa Grooitjie or “Frookie” as they would call you. How those little angels could bring out the biggest smile from you, sheer joy!

My dearest, sweet, sweet man, until we can be together again, please rest in peace. You have no more pain, just the love of the people that surround you. I will miss you every minute of my life, and I love you more than life itself.

Until we meet again My Love!!

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Trevor's memory may be made to St. Croix Hospice, 811 Westchester Ave., Harrisonville, Missouri 64701 US, https://www.stcroixhospice.com/harrisonville-mo/.