John Thomas' Obituary
John Errington Thomas Sr. age 84 died Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at Baptist Memorial Hospital-East in Memphis, Tennessee. He was born December 29, 1925. He was the son of Dr. and Mrs. John Douglas Thomas of Pensacola, Florida. He attended school in Pensacola and Stony Brook Preparatory School in Long Island, New York. After graduation, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. During World War II, he flew 28 combat missions over Germany with the 491 Bomb Group 2 Air Division of the 8 Air Force based in England. He was awarded the Air Medal with four Bronze Oak Leaf clusters, five European Battle Stars and the Presidential Citation. In 1949, he graduated from Southwestern College in Memphis (now known as Rhodes College). As the founder and President of the John E. Thomas Company, his agency became one of the largest manufacturer representative companies in a five state area in the South. When Sharp Electronics expanded their market to the United States, they selected the John E. Thomas Company to represent them. In addition, his company represented numerous other well known and respected companies. His company was consistently listed among the Top 100 privately owned companies in Memphis. Mr. Thomas also served on the Board of Directors of the Memphis Bank and Trust Company for many years. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Helen Twist Thomas and three sons, John Errington Thomas Jr. (Holly), Derrick Thomas, and Mark Twist Thomas and a daughter, Lisa Thomas Fox. He also leaves four grandchildren, Dr. Jonathan Errington Thomas, Kathleen Dodge Fox, Cameron Addenbrooke Thomas, and Derek Thomas Fox. He is also survived by two brothers, Peter Addenbrooke Thomas (Stella) of Naples, Florida and David Ormond Thomas (Mary Elizabeth) of Cookeville, Tennessee in addition to many nephews and nieces who were a very important part of his life. There will be a visitation at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery on Saturday, October 23, at 1:00 pm with a graveside service to follow. The family requests any memorials be sent to the Memphis Union Mission or the charity of the donor’s choice.
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