MR Trevor McKelvey, of Kerry Hill, Killyleagh, passed away at his home on November 9, 2016. He was a witty and loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and oldest brother to five siblings.
Trevor leaves behind his devoted wife of 58 years, Chrissie. They had a happy life together and rarely had cross words with each other.
In their younger years they would cycle for miles to meet up and go to dances together. They married in Raffrey Presbyterian Church in 1958 and were blessed with four children.
Trevor’s other love of his life was his pigeons. He started keeping pigeons in his teenage years and was known the length and breadth of Ireland as ‘Big T’. He was a well-respected man whose knowledge was sought from many.
His excellent mathematical brain earned him the job of working out the racing velocities after each race and many an hour was spent at the kitchen table, surrounded by paper clock dials, lists of race point co-ordinates and his trusty calculator. He worked this all out manually long before computers and gizmos were invented to calculate these automatically.
He was also the Race Controller for the East Down Combine and had full control and responsibility for the liberation of thousands of birds each week.
He sought weather forecasts from race point to home by contacting fellow pigeon fanciers on the perceived flight path. This contact forged many friendships country-wide.
All of this took place before the Internet and so only good intelligence, common sense and sound advice were used. If there was any doubt about the conditions he gave the orders to “Hold Over” and the whole proceedings would start again at daybreak the next morning.
Trevor, a past pupil of Killyleagh Primary School, worked almost exclusively in the tannery at Shrigley. He followed both of his parents, James and Myrtle McKelvey, into the Tannery and his long career there included working as a staker and eventually as a leather grader — ensuring a leather hide was acceptable for the purpose intended.
He loved a laugh and had a lot of fun working there. His last few years before retirement were spent at Killyleagh Yarns where he worked in the packing department. Again, his company was sought after at tea breaks to get a bit of craic and a good laugh.
He loved a good comedy on telly and loved programmes such as The Last of the Summer Wine, The Vicar of Dibley and Mrs Brown’s Boys. He would laugh heartily and have everyone laughing with him as his laugh was so infectious.
When the pigeon racing season was over, Trevor loved a flutter on the horses and was often the envy of the bookmakers. His last triumph was on November 5 when his favourite trainer brought home four winners and left the bookies scratching their heads. He told nobody about his tips or theories, so unfortunately for those left behind, he took that knowledge with him to the grave.
Illness got the better of Trevor in the form of COPD and this slowly reduced his ability to walk any distance at all. He had to give up all the jobs at the pigeon club and get rid of his beloved birds when he could no longer look after or race them.
He was left with enjoying his TV shows and having a laugh at home with Chrissie at his side. His sense of humour stayed with him to the end.
He was a big man with a big personality and testimony to this was the large gathering for his funeral on November 12.
Trevor was very much the centre of his family and a well-respected man in the community. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him and held dearly in the hearts of those who loved him.