Thomas H. "Tom" Trevilion, Jr.

Thomas H. Trevilion, Jr. was born September 30, 1931, to Thomas H. and Flora Bearden Trevilion, Mississippians who were temporarily in Watson and Dumas, Arkansas. Thomas had a contract there to haul coal from a railhead to the Mississippi River for the steam shovels used in building a levee on the river.

When Tom was about six months old the family moved back to Mississippi, to the Willows and Port Gibson area, where his father was engaged in the timber logging business. Tom distinctly remembered going into the woods with his father when he was about 2 years old and being entertained by the saw hands and mule skinner. Four large mules were used to move the cut logs to a loading site, and, to his last day, Tom remembered the names of those mules: George, Dave, Dick, and Doc.

Tom attended public school in Port Gibson, graduating in 1950. During his school years he was active in 4H, showing steers, Hereford Heifers, and Tennessee Walking Horses at the Southwest Mississippi Fat Stock Show. As a teenager, he trained several Walking Horses and showed them in local and area horse shows, winning either first or second place in all shows in which he participated.

In addition to animal interests, Tom also played football and baseball for Port Gibson High, and the baseball teams usually advanced into the area playoffs. He had fond memories of the playoff trips, especially an overnight stay at the MS Gulf Coast, where some of the players not only spent their first night in a hotel but also rode an elevator for the first time.

All was not fun and games, as Tom also worked while in high school and college. In addition to helping on the small farm, he worked in the logging woods with his father until his father’s retirement. He also worked at a livestock auction, drove cattle and gravel trucks, and worked one summer at Farmers’ Co-Op, running a clover cleaning machine and unloading bags of fertilizer from box cars. Another summer he measured cotton acreage for FSA, a division of the USDA.

One of his favorite memories from working at the auction was being called twice to testify at trials for an area policeman charged with cattle theft. Tom had checked the cow in at the auction and was called to identify the seller, whose sister he knew personally.

Following high school, Tom attended Hinds Jr. College and then the University of Southern Mississippi, where he majored in Marketing. At USM, he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order and also worked on building sets for the drama department.

Following college graduation, Tom entered the US Army as a private. He trained at Fort Jackson, SC, and Fort Lee, VA, then he shipped out to Germany. There, he was assigned to an 8-inch howitzer artillery battalion, Headquarters Battery, in Darmstadt. Later assigned to the Fire Direction Center, an 8-inch howitzer battalion, Headquarters Battery,

he was soon promoted to corporal, assisting in plotting how the howitzers should be aimed to hit a target.

After serving there for a short while, Tom was temporarily sent to the 7th Army NCO academy, where he graduated as an Honor Graduate. Based on this, and at the suggestion of the commanding general of the 7th Army to Tom’s commanding officer, he was promptly promoted to Staff Sergeant.

The 8-inch howitzers had certain capabilities and, after attending special studies on how to handle them, Tom was granted Top Secret clearance. He was never, however, called on to execute them.

The 18th Artillery Battalion, of which Tom was a member, was moved to Ft Sill, OK, where they were classified as school troops, helping to train reserves and recruits. He remained there until his release from active duty in July 1957.

After release from the army, he went to work for Crawford & Company, an international insurance claims organization. He worked in New Orleans and Monroe, LA, and Corpus Christi, TX.

While in Monroe, Tom met and married Dorothy Parker. Tom and Dorothy had three children: Flora Jeanne, Thomas III, and John Norman. Later, there came three grandchildren: Parker Marie Gary Nelson, John Thomas Trevilion (named after Tom’s grandfather,) and States Cole Trevilion (named after Tom’s great uncle, brother to Tom’s grandfather.) He also had 4 great grandchildren: Sofia, James, Emilia, and Alexandra Nelson. Tom was so very proud of each of his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren and loved them dearly.

In Corpus Christi, Tom was active in the Corpus Christi Claims Association, Southside Rotary Club, St. John’s United Methodist Church, Padre Little League, and both the Continental and Southside Pony Baseball leagues where John played. He was on several Boards of Directors for these organizations.

Tom was the branch manager for Crawford & Company in Corpus Christi for 28 years. Upon retirement from management, he worked another 10 years for the Catastrophe Division of Crawford, contracting for short periods of time on special assignments in several different states.

In 1996, Tom and Dorothy bought property in Dewitt County near Yorktown, TX, where he raised a few cattle while commuting to Corpus Christi. They sold their home in Corpus Christi in 2004 and moved full-time to Yorktown. There, he was active in and served on different committees at Yorktown UMC. He was also involved in Lions Club, Gruenau Hall, Nordheim Supper Club and the local branch of Hochheim Prairie Insurance. He served on boards of directors for most of these organizations, including a stint as interim president of the Lions Club, filling the unexpired term of a resigned president.

As a result of Tom’s work with the Lions Club, he was awarded two Lifetime memberships: in the Texas Eye Bank, that harvests corneas and assists in corneal transplants and in the Texas Lions Camp, which provides camping experience to handicapped children at no cost to the child’s family. These are two very worthwhile organizations, and Tom was very happy and humbled to receive these awards.

Following Dorothy’s death in June 2020, Tom remained active and continued to live in their home near Yorktown. In June 2024, at the age of 92, due to some health concerns, he chose to move to an assisted living facility in New Braunfels, TX, where both of his surviving children live. He passed away there on February 11, 2026.

Tom was predeceased by his wife, Dorothy Parker Trevilion, who was buried on their 61st wedding anniversary; their son, Thomas, III (infant); his parents; and his brother, John B. Trevilion.

Tom is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Jeanne and Bob Gary; son and daughter-in-law, John and Heather Trevilion; brother and sister-in-law, Cooper and JoAnn Trevilion; granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Parker and Andrew Nelson; and grandsons, John Thomas Trevilion and States Trevilion. He also leaves his 4 great-grandchildren and 2 of Dorothy’s sisters: Sue and Ray Tucker, with whom he enjoyed many adventures, and Lynn Butler, who he called Little Sis.

It’s with sadness that we report that Tom’s brother, Cooper, has also passed away, on February 14, 2026.

Tom will be buried next to Dorothy on February 28, 2026, at 11 am in the Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi.

In lieu of flowers, Tom suggested memorials to the following:

Yorktown Lions Club (PO Box 833, Yorktown, TX 78164)

Yorktown First United Methodist Church (PO Box 874, Yorktown, TX 78164)

The Protestant Cemetery Association – Wintergreen Cemetery (PO Box 91, Port Gibson, MS 39150)

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