Obituary of Rolvix Harlond Thompson

ROCHESTER, NY - November 9, 2023 Rolvix H. Thompson lived a life he was tremendously proud of. When he came to the U.S. he was baptized and receivedthe gift of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. He was a supervisor, carpenter and mentor whohad an impact on so many people's lives. Known as Mas Rol, Rol, Mr. T, Tommy and most famously dubbed ‘Justice’ byJoseph Mapp (Chris). Rolvix was born on April 23, 1936, in Ewarton, St Catherine, Jamaica, West Indies. He was the thirdchild of Phillip Samuel Thompson and Beryl Thompson, née Maye. Rolvix lived in Ewarton for a period of time and laterin Linstead, St. Catherine with his mother and three siblings, (late) Madge Jackson, (late) Daphne Douglas and FredThompson. In Linstead is where he would start a family with his union to Ina Thompson née Bailey. In June 1967 Rolvix met Ina Mae Bailey (Molly) and they were married eight months later on February 24, 1968. Togetherthey have five children, Joel (Joe) Hawkins, Loreen Thompson, Lisa Thompson, Andre Thompson and Raquel Walker. Theyhave eight grandchildren, Jermani Hawkins, Branden Hawkins, Tresur Griffin, Imayah Hawkins, Andre Bigham, BrienWalker, Raina Thompson and Joel Thompson. Rolvix was not only a father to his children, he was also a father figure tonieces Sonia Jackson, Janice French, Audrey Manning and his nephews Hugh (Junior) Jackson and Garnet (Gary)Jackson. Rolvix retired from Alcan Bauxite Company where he was a supervisor for over twenty-seven years. Over the years as acontractor, he oversaw the construction of numerous building projects, including the home that he would live in with hisfamily, His expertise also included masonry and cabinetry. His mastery in these areas would transfer to those around him. He always had a lesson to teach. Rolvix was passionateabout family and community. He devoted countless hours to the service and support to his church, family, friends andneighbors. In Jamaica, he would generously purchase groceries for people in the community. He took pride in guidingand completing a variety of improvement projects, he was the king of do-it-yourself - DIY - before it became atrending term. So many memories of Rolvix. The song says, “memories don’t live like people do, they always stay with you.” What is your favorite memory of Rolvix? His wife Molly recalls, they would plan date nights and would leave the children, Loreen and Lisa, with Mama Thompson(Rolvix’s mom). The toddlers would create such a crying tantrum until they returned which led to Rolvix and Inacanceling any further date nights out of the home. Joe reminisced some days ago, that there were projects that had been completed for months. “I would talk to himabout the same project, take his advice on how to do the work, tell him that I did it and continue our talks until I starteda new project.” Loreen and Lisa loved when their dad would come home and bring them treats. Some of the treats they recalled areice-cream, banana chips, festival jerk chicken and jerk pork from the Boston Jerk Shop in Cotton Piece. Andre remembers that during his younger years he would be often sick with asthma. He read about a Jamaican trackathlete, Donald Quarry who also had asthma and who used working out to improve his health. He asked his dad, Rolvix,for weights and his dad responded by having a friend of his build the weights from scrap metal. Andre started workingout in the carport and that led to his friends in the neighborhood joining in and working out with him. Raquel (Kim) remembers one of her favorite interactions when she asked her father for a Vienna sausage. “I realizedthat asking for things when he was sleeping yielded good results. His response this day was more than I could havehoped for “tek it, tek di whole a it” . My eyes lit up, being the literal child I was, I opened the fridge and ate an entiretin of sausages. He later questioned my actions by complaining to my siblings, Loreen and Lisa. I was confused, I didget a green light to have the entire thing, him being half asleep was a minor detail.” Rolvix was a remarkably introspective and wise man who consistently had a lesson to teach. His creativity seemedlimitless as he was also great at culinary Jamaican dishes and was known to save popsicle sticks for small modelhouses. He would often remind us to measure twice and cut once. He was big on avoiding waste and mistakes by wayof listening, calculating and observing. Rolvix, thank you for being part of our lives. We are all going to miss you. Loveyou forever and always. Friends may call Monday, November 20, 2023 from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM at Church of Jesus Christ, 16 Helena Street, Rochester, NY 14605. Funeral Service to immediately follow. Interment at the convenience of the family.