Obit of Thomas, Jim - Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Gene Phillips 11 Feb 2007 Return to Oklahoma County Archives: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ok/oklahoma/oklahoma.html ===================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm ===================================================================== ::Fairlawn Cemetery--OKC OK Thomas, Jim JIM THOMAS A lifelong resident of OKC, was born September 27, 1922, and died 4/22/03 in Oklahoma City after a lengthy illness. He was preceded in death by his father Ed and mother Laura and brother Ross. Ed and Laura came to Oklahoma City in 1908. Ross passed away in 1995. Jim leaves a cousin Kathryn of Oklahoma City as well, as many nieces and nephews in Alabama and many friends throughout the United States. He attended Edgemere grade school, Harding junior high, and graduated from Classen senior high in 1940. He attended Hills Business College in 1940 and 1941. In 1942 he joined the Navy and was sent to Radio school at Texas A&M. After graduating from Radio school he was sent to Pearl Harbor where he was assigned to the Commander of Destroyers Pacific Fleet staff. In February 1943 he was assigned to the destroyer U.S.S. Sterett where he saw action in the South Pacific including Guadalcanal, Bouganville, Rendova and the Vela Gulf campaign. The Sterett received several commendations during this time from Admiral Bull Halsey. In late 1943 he was returned to the United States for officers training in the V-12 program. He attended the University of Oklahoma and Rice Institute in Houston. He earned three degrees, BS in Geology, BS in Education and EdM in Education. While at the University of Oklahoma he was a member of the Puskita Board, the Pick and Hammer Club, BMOC and was vice president of the Senior Class. He was also president of his fraternity, at OU, Alpha Sigma Phi and wrote and published his Chapter newsletter. He also participated in sports at OU and Rice. He is a lifetime member of the O Club at OU, a lifetime member of the OU Alumni Association and belonged to the Association of Rice Alumni. In 1950 he joined his father in the residential construction business and during the next seventeen years they built many homes in Nichols Hills. In 1968 he started his own commercial construction business and during the next seventeen years he built many banks, churches, schools, and, projects at the Veterans Hospital, Oscar Rose junior college, University Hospital and Tinker Field. He was particularly proud of the Kelham Baptist Church, the Choctaw Post Office, and the First National Bank of Chandler. He belonged to many professional construction organizations such as the Professional Cost Estimators Association. During this time he did comprehensive Cost Estimates on large properties for the Oklahoma City and Tulsa Urban Renewal Authorities. He held a Real Estate Brokers license for twenty five years. He belonged to the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce from 1956 to 1993. During that time he was a member of the Sundowners Club of the State Fair of Oklahoma and helped with the Chamber National Land Judging contests. He was active in sports all of his life. In the 1960's he organized and hosted 'Humerous' Award Dinners for the University of Oklahoma freshman football team. He sponsored and managed Mid-Del a semi-pro baseball team. In 1968 he joined the Oklahoma Amateur Athletic Union serving as the State AAU Wrestling Chairman from 1968 to 1994. He was the Oklahoma AAU President in 1970 and the Oklahoma AAU Treasurer in 1988. He also served several years as the Oklahoma United States Wrestling Federation chairman. From 1968 to 1993 he organized and hosted the longest running freestyle wrestling tournament in the Southwest, the Governors Tournament. He organized and hosted the only Girls wrestling tournaments in the United States. He organized 'Old Timers' tournaments. He hosted the first Takedown tournament held in the southwest. He hosted Novice freestyle tournaments. During the period from 1968 to 1994 he organized and hosted 262 wrestling tournaments on the local, State, Regional and National level. This included two Olympic Trials and one Pan American Games Trial. Starting in 1970 he took wrestling teams to various national tournaments. Those teams won twenty two Age Group National Championships, over 300 Age Group National Champions, and hundreds of All Americans. He organized the first honors dinners for wrestlers and teams. And, during this period, he organized and directed wrestling clinics, camps, all star duals with other States and organized wrestling cultural exchange trips throughout the United States. In 1985 he received approval from Russia for a high school wrestling team to visit and wrestle in Leningrad. He also organized wrestling tours to Japan, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Hungary, France, Poland, Austria and England. He wrote and published newspaper or newsletters for the Oklahoma wrestling community from 1970 to 1994. In track & field he organized the first all women's track & field Meet. He introduced Race Walking and the Steeplechase to Oklahoma athletes in the early 1970's. He organized 20 state-wide Cross Country races. He hosted Pentathlons for elementary schools. He held two National United States Track & Field Federation Cross Country Meets. He was also the State AAU Soccer chairman for several years. For three years be wrote a Sports Manual for the State AAU as well as writing and publishing the Oklahoma AAU Sports newsletter. In 1972 he organized and directed the first Oklahoma AAU Junior Olympic Sports Festival which was held in Tulsa with over 650 athletes participating in six different sports. Russell Snedden, the AAU National executive director came to Oklahoma for that event. In 1989 he was selected as the Oklahoma AAU Volunteer of the Year. He was a member of the National AAU Wrestling Board of Directors for twelve years. During this time he wrote and published the National AAU wrestling newsletter. In 1988 he was honored by being selected as the AAU National Wrestling Man of the Year. In 1992 he received the AAU National Sustained Performance Award. He received the National AAU Master Tournament Director Award for many years. Working through the National AAU office he hosted many foreign teams for wrestling visits to Oklahoma. He developed a sister wrestling Club in London, England, the Durning Olympic Wrestling Club. The Clubs visited each other many times. Also he organized and hosted recognition dinners for several high school All-State girls and for high school All-State Football players. In 1983 he retired from the construction business and started his own Travel agency, JET Travel Service/Apple Valley Group Tours. He organized tours for groups of senior citizens to historical sites in America and various foreign countries. In semi-retirement, since 1988, he wrote newsletters for Classen Beautiful and Celebrations! He belonged to RSVP and REV. In 1992 he was named the Oklahoma County REV Male Volunteer of the Year. He is a charter member of the Battle of Normandy Museum in Caen, France; charter member of the American Air Museum in Duxford, England; and a charter member of the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington D.C. In 1986 he was a member of the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island renovation in New York City. In 1997 he was recognized at the Oklahoma high school wrestling coaches honor dinner for his many contributions to wrestling for so many years. In September 1996 he suffered another stroke which brought his many activities to a close. His funeral will be held in the chapel of the Guardian West Funeral Home at 2:00 p.m. Friday, April 25, 2003. Burial will be at Fairlawn Cemetery. GUARDIAN WEST 41 & N. MacArthur 495-9292 Published in the Oklahoman on 4/25/2003. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Oklahoma County Archives: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ok/oklahoma/oklahoma.html