Rudolph A. Thomas, Jr. remembered for love of family, talent and enterprising spirit

CRUZ BAY — While driving past Pine Peace Basketball Court in early August, you can catch a glimpse of a satin bow tied to the door of a converted trailer office. The bow tells a story about a St. John family and its patriarch, Rudolph “Pimpy” Thomas.
Before his death on July 21, and until a few months prior to that, Thomas was a fixture under the shed at Pimpy’s H20 Delivery Service. Clad in blue coveralls, with a gray goatee and an easy smile, Pimpy could be found lounging near his small fleet of trucks, listening to a portable radio.
Family and friends say that’s where the St. John water hauling business began. It was one aspect of a life that began in 1940 when Thomas was born as the ninth of 13 children.
Along the way Thomas found ways to bring brothers, children and his wife, Joan, along for the ride.
“(Pimpy) was a good calypsonian, a good musician, good in sports. He was the first person with the water delivery service, which he sold for $1 a barrel. Then all the water delivery trucks came from there,” said long time acquaintance Benedict C.E. Regis, past president of the St. John Lion’s Club.
Regis credited Thomas for having a hand in the island’s development, starting from his early twenties when he worked on the crew digging Centerline Road. Two years later, he shifted his efforts into the military and later law enforcement. Daughter Beverly said by then it was 1960 and she and three siblings had made their way into the world.
Crime Prevention Bureau Director Kenneth Blake recalled Thomas from the days when they both served as young police officers in Cruz Bay, at St. John’s only police station. “I was a police officer then. He was up there with Capt. Leander Jurgens and those guys. He was a good police officer, very friendly,” Blake said.
Throughout that time, Thomas and brothers Roy Smith, Albert Smith, Aubrey Thomas, Randolph Thomas and Alphosne Powell set out on a musical journey as a band, the Jealous Souls. “They played in Caneel Bay and at Fred’s in Coral Bay,” Beverly said. “He played the cowbell and sang, and played the congas.” In those days, a Coral Bay businessman named Fred Smith, ran a rum shop which was temporarily a club called the Kite and later became Skinny Legs. The Jealous Souls also played a club called the Upper Deck, in the Bethany area near Power Boyd.
Blake, a long time host of the radio show, “Calypso Past and Present,” recalled Pimpy Thomas as more of a singer than a calypsonian. “Not that he was a calypsonian to write his own songs. He’d take other people’s songs and sing them. He’d sing a (Mighty) Sparrow or a Shadow song. He was not a great singer, but he was good,” Blake said.
But one of Beverly’s most enduring memories was about Pimpy’s H20, which she said she was in on from the beginning. “He used to drive a blue jeep called the Blue Angel. It had a 55 gallon barrel,” she said. From that barrel Thomas and daughter brought water to homes around the island, as far as East End and Lameshur Bay where paved roads had not reached. “It was a beating,” she said.
Along the delivery route there was also time for a father to teach lessons about independence and self determination. Out there, Beverly said, she learned how to change flat tires, lift the hood and diagnose problems. There were also lessons in neighborliness. Another of Thomas’ daughters, Brenda Olauge, said she also remembered her father’s admonishments to treat people fairly and kindly. “That sounds about right,” she said.
As the business grew, Beverly and mother Joan Thomas also learned to drive the water trucks. Joan did some of the road work while, at the same time, working as an administrator at the Cruz Bay police station and completing a Masters Degree in Business Administration at the University of the Virgin Islands.
With that achievement done, Joan Thomas turned more of her attention towards the business end of the water service. Pimpy found time to play softball with the St. John Ambassadors of the 40+ League. As his playing days came to an end, Thomas donned the uniform of a softball umpire and stood behind home plate.
And as the patriarch of the Thomas family departs, Beverly and her three sons still operate the water business. His daughter said one of the things she is most grateful for is that her father stayed in this life long enough to see the first birthday of his first great grandchild, on July 21.
Friends and family are invited to attend the viewing this Saturday, August 6, 2016 from 8 to 10am at Bethany Moravian Church. The funeral service will follow at 10am at the Bethany Moravian Church Cemetery.

1 COMMENT

  1. So sad to hear of ‘Pimpy’s’ passing this morning. He delivered several loads of water for us while we lived on St. John. I know my husband will be sad as he played ball with Pimpy and laughed with him. Bless his family during this time and prayers for a good soul! Jan & Ken Binder (former Caneel Bay Dir. of Op)