Extracted from The News-Star (Monroe, LA)
Friday, April 28, 1961

Police Probing Gunshot Death Of J. R. Thomas

Monroe police were continuing an investigation today into a shooting which claimed the life of a 19-year-old student at Northeast Louisiana State College.

Jerry Ray Thomas was dead on arrival at the St. Francis Hospital from an accidentally self-inflicted wound in the chest. He was fatally injured when a foreign-made .22-calibre pistol discharged in his home, 1305 Spencer street, in the north side of Monroe.

The accident occurred about 6:45 p.m. in the hallway of Thomas' home.

Funeral services were still incomplete early today, but will be under the direction of Hixson Brothers Funeral Home of Monroe.

The bullet entered the right side of the chest at a 15 degree angle.

Monroe police were notified by the West Monroe police department, which had been called by Kilpatrick's Funeral Home. An ambulance from that funeral home had taken the youth to the hospital.

Mrs. Thomas was reportedly packing for a trip to the Gulf Coast when she heard the pistol report and then her husband fall to the floor.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Lloydelle W. Thomas, a step-son, and his parents, all of Monroe.