http://tributes.com/show/Elmer-Thomas-94249820
Mr Elmer Thomas
Elmer Thomas, 89, went home to be with the Lord on August 7, 2012 at Hospice Ministries in Ridgeland, MS.
The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday, August 9 at Lakewood Memorial Funeral Home and again Friday, August 10 after 10 a.m. The service will begin at 11 a.m. Friday, August 10 in the funeral home chapel. Interment will follow in Lakewood Memorial Park.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Clyde L. Woods Thomas, and three sons, Dave Thomas of Saltillo, MS, Phillip Thomas (Debbie) of Brandon, MS, and Daryl Thomas of Jackson, MS. He is also survived by one sister, Betty Dunning, of Chattanooga, TN, and one grandson, Ryan Thomas.
Mr. Thomas graduated from Tyner High School in Tyner, TN, where he played football and served as the football team manager. He enlisted in the Army Air Corp on March 19, 1943, and is a veteran of World War 11. He was an airplane mechanic and crew chief with the 2nd Air Force Bomber Squadron where he maintained B-29 Superfortress aircraft. Mr. Thomas played an important role in the testing and deployment of the atomic bomb. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and accepted the position of Station Manager for Trans Texas Airlines in Fort Worth, TX.
Mr. Thomas was employed as a communications technician by South Central Bell Telephone Company and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company for 39 years where he spent many years installing and maintaining communications for the legislative sessions at the Mississippi State Capitol and the Governor's office.
He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Jackson where he was active in the Caring Sunday School class for many years. He was a member of the Telephone Pioneers of America. Throughout his life, he collected and restored antique telephones, many of which have been displayed at the Old Capitol, local museums, and telephone shows.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital.
July 6, 1923 - August 7, 2012