Tribute to Terrance Louison

by Marielle Alexander, Regional Manager, and the team at St James Travel & Tours

Terrance Louison (27 April 1961–2 April 2024) affectionately known as “Terry” or “Terrs” by our team, joined St James Travel & Tours at its inception in 2000.

Terry laid the foundation for our tours, lending his expert knowledge and love for Grenada to create the most magical experiences for our visitors. He was an expert guide of botany, birds, herbs and spices, history, particularly of the Grenada Revolution, rainforest guide and active hiker. There was nothing that this amazing man did not have in-depth knowledge of!

Terry had a real love for botany. He could rattle off the Latin name of every plant at any given moment (which left us all in awe), speak on how it is grown and its many uses. The same for birds; he successfully completed the Caribbean Birdwatching certification. You could often find him with a pair of binoculars around his neck, taking our guests out on tour.

In 2023 we chose Terry, along with historian Michael Jessamy to host journalist Mark Stratton who was doing a piece on the 1983 Revolution. Terry had thoroughly enjoyed the experience, especially so because he felt that he himself learned a few new things about the Revolution. Here’s what Mark had to say about Terry:

“I met Terrance in 2023 when in Grenada writing about the island for the Daily Telegraph. He was ferrying me around in his taxi to some of the sites associated with the revolution. The first thing he said to me, with a smile on his face, was: ‘don’t go asking me any questions about my past, I’m saying nothing’. By the end of the day, he had told me everything!!! I only met him for one day, but his humour and warm heartedness touched me. I will never forget our brilliant day touring South Grenada, nor Terrance.”

Terry was well known and loved by our international counterparts who entrusted our mutual guests to his expertise; an encyclopaedia in human form. Any new idea we had for tours, Terry was our go-to. We said this is what we want to do … where do we start, who do we speak to and how do we do it best … and he was always the man to guide us without hesitation.

A great loss for us, Terrs will be sorely missed. He was part of our St James family and we loved him dearly. We celebrate the life of this amazing man, who left an impact not only on us, but on the thousands of our visitors who he imparted his knowledge, passion and warmth on. We are comforted knowing that his faith in God was at the forefront of all he did, which he openly shared, to the very end.