‘Tusty’ takes treasured radio on his final journey

Despite the threat of heavy showers last Saturday, many came out to follow Daniel Irvin Thompson, uncle of Minister Jerrol Thompson, to his final resting place. Popularly known as Tusty, Irvin was the quintessential Chateaubelair man, a local historian and a very colourful political analyst.{{more}}

Tusty was the first boy of Arthur and Dora Thompson’s 11 children. He was followed by John Thompson, the accountant and former parliamentarian. After leaving school, he went to work on the Land Settlement Estate in Richmond.

In 1952, Tusty traveled to the USA as a farm worker; he was based in Wisconsin and Chicago. He brought back to Chateaubelair tales of big city life, racism, the civil rights movement and two transistor radios, which were luxuries in those days, one of which he gave to his older sister Lizzy.

After returning from the US, Tusty went to work on the launches that traveled between Chateaubelair and Kingstown. When construction of the hydro electricity plant at Fitzhughes started in 1962, Tusty was one of the first locals to be employed; he often told of swimming to shore with the pipes from the ship that brought them.

When the plant began operations, Tusty continued employment as a pipe ranger, and was mostly responsible for the operations of the Dark View intake. He gave countless tours of the facility to visitors and school children and was a weatherman in his own right, as he was responsible for measuring rainfall at the facility.

Tusty retired in the mid 80s, and spent his days quietly doing what he loved: passing on knowledge and discussing politics and current affairs and listening to his radio.

After his wife passed in 2000 Tusty went to New York in 2001 to visit his children and grand children living there. He also went back in 2005. Soon after he returned, arthritis affected his knees, so he was confined to holding court at home. He traveled to Cuba last year for eye treatment. Tusty fathered nine children. He died quietly on August 23, and he was buried with his treasured radio.