‘He was a father figure to me’: Gympie tractor tragedy victim Thomas Holt mourned by his nephew Louie

“Words can’t describe how much I’ll miss him. I’ll never be able to repay him, but he wouldn’t have wanted to be repaid.”

Gympie tractor tragedy victim Thomas Holt is being remembered as a “father figure” to his nephew Louie.

Tributes have continued to pour in for a 64-year-old grandfather who died in a tractor tragedy on the Southside last week, this time from his loving nephew.

Mr Holt was remembered by close friends as “caring” and ”honest” after he passed away following a tractor rollover on his property off Moreland Rd on Thursday (June 3) afternoon.

His nephew Louie said the two shared a very close bond, with Thomas becoming a father figure to him in the wake of another tragedy in his life.

“My father passed away … and then he played a bigger part in my life, he was always a great man, always had a smile on his face and no matter what the occasion was nothing would bring him down,” Louie said.

“He was always happy, he was more of a father figure to me than an uncle. He was just an all over loving person and a great man, you’d never expect that to happen to him.

“It’s harder for me now than it ever has been. All I can do is remember what man he was and respect his wishes.

“It didn’t matter what part of Australia I was in, I was always in touch with Tom.”

Louie said Thomas’ selfless nature had always shone through when he needed it most in his own life.

“The day my grandmother died I lost my job, he’s been paying my car rego, bills, rent, food. I didn’t ask him to do any of that, he was just that nice of a person, he helped me out more than I needed,” Louie said.

“I was in front of all my mates when I got told (of Thomas’ death).

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“Words can’t describe how much I’ll miss him. I’ll never be able to repay him, but he wouldn’t have wanted to be repaid. He’d just want me to remember him for the man he was.

“I was the son he never had.”

Louie said he was in the process of arranging funeral details to commemorate and celebrate Thomas’ life in the near future.

Originally published as ‘He was a father figure to me’: Gympie tractor tragedy victim Thomas Holt mourned by his nephew Louie