INTERVIEWS | LUMEN
23
A shy and quiet person , Br Gregory generally tried to be as independent as possible , whether it was at the nursing home , St Joseph ’ s Home where he spent the last few months of his life or at the community . In the community , he wanted to clean and mop the floor of his own room and did not ask our helper to clean his room . He was one who did not want to trouble others if he could do the work himself . To occupy his time , he would play games on his iPad , read a book or spend time praying , especially the rosary . At the nursing home , he delighted in being able to tell me that he was able to attend holy Mass in the chapel .
He remembered fondly about his family , especially the late Sr . Bertilla who lived till 104 and looked forward to his annual visits to her convent in Kluang , Malaysia . He had also arranged for his brother , Lawrence , to visit Sr . Bertilla . He appreciated the hospitality and support of his cousins , nephews and grandnephews .
He certainly had a group of close friends from church and when he was still in the community , they would visit with packets of food for him or they would take him out for a meal or to the movies . He enjoyed the attention they gave him and spoke fondly of them .
An avid stamp collector , he continued to deposit money for the First day covers and stamps which he received right to the end . When I asked him what would I do with the stamps , he told me in a smiling way that I could sell it off and the proceeds could go to the Brothers .
In his retirement , he had volunteered with CARE and had visited the patients who were diagnosed with AIDS at the Communicable Disease Center near Tan Tock Seng hospital for a short while . He had varied interests – Chinese brush paintings that he took a course for . Some of his paintings were taken by friends who said he had a flair for painting . He was honest and laughed that his Chinese brush painting teacher had to help him to make the painting look presentable .
For his religious life , I quote Sr . Geraldine , in charge of St Joseph ’ s Home who said that he completed his religious life with the final canonical visit of Bro . Armin , our Brother Visitor on 12 January , six days before his passing . As a sign of the times , the canonical visit was on Zoom . At first , he did not understand what I meant by Zoom .
Let me end with a quote from Bro . Kelvin Tan who remembers him , “ I am a Brother today because of Bro . Greg . I will miss him much . He continues to influence me like our mother Mary , who quietly “ treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart .” Bro . Greg , pray for us .”
A brief biography : Bro Gregory Thomas , aged 96 , came from a devout Catholic family of 4 brothers , of whom one was a twin brother and 4 sisters . Three of his sisters joined religious congregations , two of whom were Canossian Sisters and one , a Little Sister of the Poor . His formation was in St Joseph ’ s College , Pulau Tikus , Penang during the 2nd World War . After the war , he was posted to Noah ’ s Ark , a primary school and then to St Xavier ’ s Branch School for a few years and then to St Xavier ’ s Institution until 1954 . After this stint in Penang , he was transferred to St Michael ’ s School in Singapore for 6 years and later to La Salle Primary School in Kowloon , Hong Kong where he later became the Headmaster for a few years .
He then pursued further studies in De La Salle University , Manila , Philippines after which he returned to Hong Kong and taught in St Joseph ’ s College for many years . He returned to Singapore in 1969 and taught at St Joseph ’ s Institution and St Patrick ’ s School . He retired in 1984 but continued teaching Moral Instruction and Bible Knowledge for several years at SJI as well as taking charge of the Legion of Mary in St Patrick ’ s School . After that he volunteered to go to Japan to teach English in Kagoshima and later to Papua New Guinea to teach English to the postulants and novices there for 2 years . He returned to Singapore where he retired at St Patrick ’ s Community . Late last year in 2020 , he had to be hospitalized , after which he was cared for by the Canossian Sisters at the St Joseph ’ s Home . He passed away peacefully on 18 January 2021 .
Facing page ( top left ): Bro Gregory served as a Lasallian Brother for 77 years before his passing on 18 January 2021 , aged 96
Facing page ( right ): During his teaching stint in Hong Kong This page ( top centre ): Playing the harmonium This page ( inset ): Bro Gregory in his younger days
This page ( 2nd from bottom left ): With fellow Lasallian Brothers at a community outing movie in 2019
This page ( bottom left ): With students from SJI Junior visiting the Cathedral of the good Shepherd
This page ( 2nd from bottom centre ): Bro Gregory ’ s Chinese brush painting
This page ( bottom centre ): Celebrating his 95th birthday in 2019 with close friends and well-wishers
This page ( right ): His latest photo dated in January 2021