Former professional boxer and entrepreneur Freddy Thomas died yesterday. He was 66.

Mr. Thomas was well known across the Island as a boxing champion ? having fought in Europe and the US ? as well as a reserve Police officer and a stone mason.

In recent years he had made the headlines for the love he showered on his wife of 46 years, Clara, pushing her around the Island each year in a wheelbarrow to mark their wedding anniversary.

Last summer he was forced to skip that tradition because of ill health.

Son Marico, owner of Four Star Pizza and The Village Grill chain, said his father had been driven by ambition.

?I couldn?t tell you all the different entrepreneurial titles he had,? said Marico. ?He was a barber, a construction worker, he worked in the hotel, he was very active in sports ? soccer and cricket. He ran a painting company, the United Video Centre, United Family Shoes; he ran a record store; United Protecto Security Co., United Video Arcade; and he was a Crown and Anchor man and a taxi driver.

?He knew what he wanted and he went about doing it his way. He was very committed to the ideals that he had in his head. He was a disciplinarian, but I think he tried to support us in his own way.

?I always wanted him to tell me about his life on a time line ? I always thought I had sufficient time. We will miss him.?

Mr. Thomas and Earl Wilson?s friendship spanned back to when he began boxing.

?He was a long time friend from boxing right till the end,? said former boxing manager and trainer Mr. Wilson. ?In between we went our separate ways, but in the end we were right back were we started.

?I used to have gym on Parsons Road and then in later years at King?s Stadium, on St. John?s Road. Freddy fought a lot of big-name fighters, in Bermuda, the Bahamas and England.

?He trained in New York with Roger Harvey, who was Bermuda?s welterweight champion and with Emile Griffith, the former world champion.

Mr. Wilson said as a builder, Thomas was always ?building this and fixing that?. He got that from his father and wanted to do it right up until the end.

?When Freddy was 13 he was out working and saving money to buy his own home,? added Mr. Wilson. ?His father had a horse and carriage business and he was always taking care of the horses and when he came home from school he would go and look for where his father was working.?

Mr. Wilson said not having his Freddy around anymore would be a great loss.

?He was a good friend because if he wasn?t he wouldn?t have been a friend of mine,? said Mr. Wilson.

?He was older, but he was still a young man and the hardest thing was trying to slow down.

?He got married young and had a good wife and he wrote his own history with her.?

Minister of Community Affairs and Sport Dale Butler said he was shocked by the news and offered his condolences on behalf of the Government and the Ministry.

?I thought I hadn?t seen him,? said Mr. Butler, ?I had started his biography and I?ve never had a chance to finish it.

?He was an outstanding businessman and sportsman who had a great sense of purpose, a care for young people and for up and coming boxers.

?I always admired him, he was always ahead of the pack.?

Mr. Butler said he had been saddened when Thomas was attacked outside Harrington Workmen?s Club in Devil?s Hole some years ago ? an assault which left him with serious injuries.

?I know his spirits were dampened after the attack, he had put a lot of his own money into reviving the club and they just attacked him,? he said. ?But he knew how to live life and he turned adversity in opportunity.?

Mr. Thomas is survived by his wife Clara and four children, Bethanne Raynor, Marquita, Marico and Belcario Thomas.

The family requested that mourners not wear black. The funeral will be held at Bethel Church on Monday at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Agape House.