On Friday morning, October 9th, 1981 Trevor’s daughter, Zana Jean Geddes, was born in Seattle.  And even though this was an unexpected event for him at the age of 51, he took his responsibilities seriously. He contributed to her support, bought her bedroom furniture and school clothes and supplies as she grew older.


Trevor would take Zana for day trips when she was a little girl and then overnight stays as she got older. They frequently had ice cream from the Hagen Daz Ice Cream store at Green Lake in Seattle. They both loved Macadamia Nut ice cream. In fact his daughter is like him in many ways. She has a positive outlook on life and full of confidence and has always been able to engage with people from a very early age. And she is still that way today as an adult.


One of my best memories of Trevor and Zana is when he took her to Trinidad for Carnival when she was 2 years old!!! Though I am not sure he totally understood the challenges that he would face travelling on a long airplane trip with a child of two, let alone taking care of her hair! For example, he gave her a carbonated beverage while on the flight and since she had never had pop before it didn’t go well because back up it came. 


Trevor took Zana to Trinidad to meet her Grandmother Evelyn and other family members. They had a great time during their trip and both lived to tell about it afterwards. But I think the trauma was too much for Trevor as he never took her back for another visit. Which is too bad because when she was older she would have been a much better and easy going traveling companion. And she would have enjoyed the experience and memories. Thus, for me he was very brave to undertake such a trip with his young daughter!


Trevor and Zana were not close as time went by and that is too bad. I think they both thought that some day that would happen. But as the years passed they just ran out of time.

I met Trevor for the very first time in 2008 when he moved into the house across the street from me in Antelope. We immediately got acquainted and had many conversations over the years. Our favorite topics were political issues because we were both concerned about the role the government play in the welfare of people in the U.S.A. and globally. We bonded over our higher education and similar work experiences which made it easier to discuss current issues. We would sit in our garages and have good conversations.

The most memorable conversations were about when it was time to catch the A bus uptown. This was a no-return bus; it was your last bus ride. The sign would read, "up-town, no return trip". No one looked forward to boarding the A bus. TLC has finally stepped aboard the A bus heading uptown. No one knows how far the ride is, but we hope that it is a quiet and peaceful one. Ride on TLC, enjoy your ride!!

Rest in peace!

~ Johnnie Hall

I didn’t meet Trevor until after 1976 when I began spending more time with Marlene in Berkeley and he was already at the University of Washington. We connected only sporadically since then but he was family and will be missed.

Two occasions stand out.

I was living and working in Washington D.C. the year he was Dean in Residence at the Council of Higher Education. Two dinners in my kitchen represented two extremes of gastronomical taste. Trevor asked me to cook “sticky chicken" – chicken baked in a sauce of Russian dressing, apricot jam and Lipton Onion Soup mix—that was a household favorite when he visited Berkeley. On another occasion, Trevor allowed me to watch and take notes while he made his mother’s chicken curry.

Some years later, Trevor was working in the U.C. President’s office on increasing faculty and student diversity. It was a time when there were challenges to affirmative action in admissions decisions. I invited Trevor to speak on the issue at our temple. He held the audience spellbound with his stories and vivid descriptions of challenges that they never could have imagined.

~ Cookie Smiler

Trevor as a teacher was revered by his students even as he carefully brought them to understandings they found uncomfortable to accept.

Trevor was the neatest, tidiest person I have ever known.  One day he and another friend had finished cleaning the bathroom.  Patrick announced that Trevor cleans the toilet like he’s going to ride it in a parade.

In spite of our very tight student budgets and limited supplies of groceries, Trevor always was able to put a sumptuous meal on the table for however many were around.  Trinidad hospitality.

Way back in the darkness of the 1960’s, Trevor respected and admired strong women.  That said, we once were fishing at a lake near Eugene and Trevor caught a fish.  He informed me that in his culture women clean the fish.  I informed him that we were in my culture where fish are cleaned by the person who catches them.  He cleaned his fish and said, yeah that works too.

Trevor was able to have easy, comfortable interactions with everyone he talked to, and he talked to everyone.  Frequently he would be washing his Mustang in the driveway when the mailman went by.  They always joked that you should keep washing because you never know what might be under there.  On the day he was washing his new Mercedes, the mailman went by and Trevor said, “See?”

Trevor once told me he thought it was so very important to live your life in grace, and that he tried to do that.  I have to say he succeeded completely.

Farewell my dear friend; I will love you always.  Thanks for all the very important things you taught me, and congratulations on a life well lived.

~ Marlene Johnson