The Legacy of a Great Man

Norberg K Thompson, OBE

The Staff of The Reef Resort regret to announce that Founder of our resort, Norberg K. Thompson, OBE, died last Thursday morning. He was 81.

Local newspapers have been paying tribute to Mr Thompson who has been a prominent and well-known member of Cayman’s business community. The Cayman Net News described him fondly as a ‘stalwart’ of Cayman.

Mr Thompson was educated at the Cayman Islands Government School and started his long career by spending ten years as a seafarer. He went on to start Wholesome Bakery in 1954, developing trade district by district on a bicycle. A founding member of Cayman’s Rotary Club, Mr Thompson then began building condominiums in 1964 and became involved in numerous other real estate ventures – one of them being the creation of the Reef Resort.

Flags were flown at half mast at some business establishments and those offices were also closed for half a day on 30th March 2006 in recognition of the passing of Mr. Thompson. He leaves a rich legacy on Cayman of a life of hard work and dedication and has been an inspiration to many people. In 2002 he received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) during the Queen’s Birthday honours.

Mr. Thompson, one of Cayman’s most successful businessmen, served as Chamber President from 1970-1974 and was awarded the Chamber’s Businessman of the Year Award in 1997. The Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce have paid a special tribute to Mr Thompson on their website.

He is survived by his devoted wife of almost 50 years, Mary Thompson; two sons, Kel and Gene Thompson and a large, extended family. Kel has been very actively involved in creating The Reef Resort and we send our sincere condolences to him and the rest of the family. This is a loss to the Thompson family but also to Grand Cayman as a whole.

The service of thanksgiving for the life of Norberg K. Thompson, Sr., O.B.E. will be held at the George Town Seventh Day Adventist Church Sunday, 9 April at 3.30pm.