Obituary - Jim Thomas

JIM THOMAS

After a valiant fight with lung cancer, Jim went to peace on December 30, 2011.

He leaves behind many loving and loyal friends who stood by him during his illness.  He was preceded in death by his father, James M. Thomas and mother Fayetta Thomas.  He is survived by his sisters, Barbara Huffman of Murfreesboro, TN, and Nancy Rademaker of St. Louis, MO.

Jim grew up in St. Louis and attended Lindbergh High School where he was an accomplished swimmer and captain of the water polo team.  He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri's prestigious School of Journalism, paid for by summers working on tugboats. Upon graduation he moved to San Francisco, working for Evans Advertising. Later he started his own successful business, ADPLUS.

After living in an enchanted cottage in Danville, ten years ago he moved to Martinez, where he transformed his yellow hillside home into a place of great beauty. He also created a huge holiday tree light display that could be seen from all downtown. He was much known and recognized about Martinez for his daily walks with Willie, Stella, and Andy, his beloved yorkies.

Although his religious beliefs may have varied over time, he never changed his opinion about television, owning only one, which he gave away after only a few days of viewing. He found inspiration listening to his friends stories, as well as Netflix. He was fascinated by nearly everything from politics to childrens cartoons to Wikipedia to the perfect method to make whipped cream pies. He loved to overtip at restaurants.

Jim ended all his email messages with “Be kinder than necessary. Everyone is fighting some kind of battle”. He lived his life with a gentle and committed spirit, always showing kindness and generosity to those who had less. His many friends are missing his insight, humor, quick retort, brilliant ability to shop on-line, and love of candy. We are comforted knowing that he did not have to suffer long and relieved that due to efforts of Muttville, all of his beloved animals have found wonderful new homes.

During life, Jim donated much of all he had to others, including his kidney, and in the end has donated his body to the UC Davis Medical School.  Donations can be made to either Wikipedia or the American Cancer Society in his name, or in Willie and Stella’s name to Muttville (P.O. Box 410207, San Francisco, CA 94141) and are much appreciated. A memorial to celebrate Jim's life will be scheduled in the future.