A dedicated sportsman and trade unionist was one of the island’s first tractor-trailer operators, whose skills went into some major construction projects in Bermuda — as well as his own TNT Driving School.

Ashton Thomas Sr was skilled at softball as well as football. He managed the men’s and women’s national softball teams.

Mr Thomas was a softball manager for the Devonshire Diamondettes and the legendary Big Blue Machine, as the women’s national team were affectionately called, which earned him recognition at the Government Sports Awards in 2018.

He travelled frequently as manager of the women’s national team and led them to victories in Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas.

A self-proclaimed “Pond Dog”, Mr Thomas grew up in The Glebe Road area of Pembroke and nearby Friswells.

His jobs included construction as well as at the Corporation of Hamilton. He worked as an examiner at the Transport Control Department until his retirement in 2008.

He then set up his driving school with son, Armell Thomas, the president of the Bermuda Public Services Union, who said his father represented dock-workers for the Bermuda Industrial Union during his stint on the Hamilton docks.

He called his father a “legend”, whose nature was to look out for others.

Mr Thomas added: “Dad was a shop steward, just like me. He was a leader, a voice for fairness and a person who never hesitated to stand up for what was right.

“He was also a sportsman, a passion we shared. He taught me the importance of teamwork, perseverance and the joy of competition.”

Mr Thomas recalled being taught by his father how to drive a tractor-trailer at the age of 12 — and his father’s love of the convertible car bought for him by his family.

John Payne, of the BPSU, said Ashton Thomas was “a strong supporter of the trade union movement” who spent many years at the Bermuda Public Transportation Board “not only as a senior bus driver, but, maybe more importantly, as a trainer for new drivers”.

The pair played cricket together at Young Men’s Social Club and Mr Payne remembered how Mr Thomas helped the team whenever they came up one player short at the former National Sports Club in Devonshire.

Mr Thomas typically refused to go on to the property because of its racially segregated past as a Whites-only sports ground.

Mr Payne said: “He balanced his values by only being on the property while the game was going on.”

Mr Thomas played football as a left back and left-sided midfielder for Young Men’s Social Club as well as for Pembroke Juniors.

He enjoyed a musical career playing bass for the Subdominant Brass Band, one of the island’s top acts of the day.

Mr Thomas also played with the Warren Experience, who were regulars at the Guinea Discotheque, upstairs from The Hog Penny pub and restaurant on Burnaby Street.

As a left-hander, Mr Thomas’s style was to take the right-handed version of the guitar and play it upside down.

He married his wife, Louise, in 1962. In addition to Armell, they had sons Ashton Jr and Albert.

Mr Thomas was a regular at several clubs but the Breakfast Club of Bermuda, for which he was an organising force 42 years ago, held a special place for him.

Norman Pogson, a friend and club member, said: “He is going to be a very big miss. He was like a brother to me — we were all brothers in the Breakfast Club.”

Meetings were mannered, congenial, tightly organised and run according to parliamentary procedure — which Mr Thomas helped to maintain.

Mr Pogson said: “Ashton was a gentle giant who loved people, assisted people in any way he could. Everyone had a lot of respect for one another because of the discipline we had.”

The club started out with Mr Thomas and a few friends holding Sunday morning codfish and potato breakfasts at a room in his house that was so small it was nicknamed Wibo, for “walk in, back out”.

It grew into a group of roughly 20 regulars, with Mr Thomas handling the logistics of breakfasts that grew into dinners, cooking competitions, cruises and a regular forum for members to discuss the events of the day or play cards.

Each member was responsible for hosting a meeting on the third Sunday of the month.

Mr Pogson said: “It took a few years and then everyone understood everyone’s ways, respected your opinion.

“We could have a little heat sometimes but when that meeting finished, you would never have known a person had a disagreement of opinion. It was all love.”

Ashton Leroy Thomas Sr, a sportsman and union shop steward, was born on March 19, 1938. He died on January 4, 2025, aged 86