Gary Lee Thomas
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Gary Lee Thomas, 86, passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 22nd on the “Memory Care” unit at Homestead Assisted Living Facility in Eudora, KS. Gary struggled with Alzheimer’s disease for the past 6+ years & was moved into Homestead in December of 2021 by his daughter, Teresa.
Gary was born on August 18, 1938, in Onaga, Kansas & was one of two adopted children of Richard Lee and Faye (Gosper) Thomas. Gary had one younger sister, Donna Dick of California. Gary grew up on a farm on the outskirts of 23rd St. in Lawrence. Gary’s childhood homestead has been torn down to make way for a Storage Shed business. Growing up though, the homestead was directly South of the K-10 Hwy right off Franklin Rd. The old Co-Op refinery plant used to be on the north of K-10, across the road from it. Gary grew up loving to fish with his mother & father at the homestead pond, that was always full of big mouth bass.
In later years he’d camp out with his family at the homestead pond, catch fish & have fish fries. He loved animals & showed many cattle at the 4H Fairgrounds as a youth, winning many blue ribbons. He graduated from Lawrence High School in 1956, & married Ellen Johnson in 1958 of Lawrence Kansas, & had his only 3 children by her, Greg, Teresa & Gizele. He trained in the Army around 1960. Another passion of Gary’s was boxing. He entered a boxing club in KC in the late 1950’s to early 60’s, when he was around 18-20 years old. He met Wesley Walker who was a trainer/fighter & the two became quick friends & sparring buddies. Gary fought in several “Golden Gloves” matches. Later in life Gary used his boxing skills as a bouncer in various nightclubs around town.
He found boxing matches exhilarating. After his children were born, he started his own Tree Trimming business called, “Thomas Tree Surgery” in the mid 1960’s. He also worked for the Lawrence Electric company trimming trees off powerlines. He moved his family to Lakewood, California in 1969 & began working as a union drywaller & taper. He divorced in 1972 & moved back to Lawrence KS around 1975. He continued work as a Union Tradesman in the KS Construction Trades working commercially out of Topeka & at KU. While he was still in California; he obtained a license from the Universal Life Church in 1974 as an ordained minister, so he could marry people. Marrying people was a passion of his & he was asked to perform some very interesting weddings. Honoring his friends by performing their funerals & Celebrations of Life, was also a way he felt he could give back to them. Gary was a very social guy & loved his friends for which he had many! He’d do anything for his friends & family. Gary also loved dogs & was never without one of his traveling companions in his car, especially “Connie” his mothers’ dog he inherited after his mother Faye passed. He spoiled Connie along with Cleo & Bruiser with many a McDonald’s hamburger! Gary moved to Linwood around 1999 & obtained a donkey named Speedy from his friend Barney. Gary loved his donkey & fed Speedy corncobs from his mouth!! Gary inherited the bug for gardening & tilling the earth from his parents. Gardening gave him great satisfaction. As a child he loved his pet pig named Petunia. As an adult he’d look forward to planting a vegetable garden every year, giving away much of his vegetables to friends & family. If you ever needed a hand, just ask Gary & he’d drop everything to come help you! He loved helping out those in need & would pick up food at the food pantry for people who had no transportation to get to the food pantry & he’d deliver their food to them.
Gary became a member of the Masonic Lodge while in California in 1969. He continued as a Masonic member when he moved back to Lawrence KS & attended the Acacia Lodge #9 (Blue Lodge) & became a Master Mason. He began his Masonic membership 55 years ago on & off with over 34 years of active good standing. The Blue Lodge he mostly attended, was Acacia Lodge #9 located at 1301 E 25th Street, Lawrence, KS 66046, off 23rd St. & Ponderosa Dr. Additionally, he was a 14th degree member of the Kaw Valley Scottish Rite since 2021. His father, Richard Thomas was also a Master Mason. Gary’s Masonic brothers really took care of him over the years. He absolutely loved going every Friday to the “Coffee & Donuts” social hour at lodge. As Gary’s health began to slow him down, & he could no longer drive, his close fellow lodge brothers i.e.; Randy Wells & Bill McDaniel & a few others would pick him up & drive him home from all of his lodge meetings & to the coffee hour every Friday. No one knows how much that meant to Gary to have that fellowship regularly, especially once he entered memory care at Homestead! He was always ready for his Thursday lodge meeting on Monday! He enjoyed playing pranks on people & would help his friends to play pranks on other mutual friends. One of his favorite pranks was scaring people with the pet mongoose that belonged to his friend Barney Barnard. Gary helped Barney to draw people in to look at Barney’s mongoose. Then he & Barney acted together as a team to convince the person that a live mongoose was inside the cage (only hair could be seen through holes). Gary would tell his friends to get close to the cage & look inside & Barney would bang a little on the cage, acting like he was trying to rustle the mongoose…then when the person least expected it, Barney would release the trap & that fake mongoose would come flying out of the cage across the room, throwing the unexpected guests into a frenzy who were trying to escape the hands of the fake mongoose! Many a guest wet their britches trying to climb walls, chairs or whatever they could to evade that mongoose’s grip! You never heard two adult men laugh so hard! That is just one of many examples of the fun loving nature Gary possessed to make people laugh because he loved to laugh! Anyone who knew Gary also knew he was an avid “storyteller”. Most of his close friends have probably heard the same stories 100 times over! Gathering weekly with old buddies at McDonald’s (Target Store after Covid 19 hit), to “shoot the breeze” over breakfast, was a special time of bonding & fellowship as well for Gary. He always looked forward to finding out how his friends were doing & to catch up with their lives. Gary was not shy & conversed with everyone, anytime, anywhere. Gary also did not miss a chance to go to the annual St. Patty’s Day parade with his friends! That parade was a big event for him each year & he began planning early! Each year he & his gang of friends would ride in some sort of old classic convertible or truck donning green beads & attire. He loved sporting his big green “Cat in the Hat” top hat, waving at the crowd. He adored sharing a carload with his good friends at the annual St. Patty’s Parade! He also loved to go to classic car shows with buddies.
Some of Gary’s favorite sayings were: “Gotta take care of some business”, “It’s a Good Day to Have a Good Day,” “Have a Better One,” & “Where there is a tree, there is a breeze”. That meant “though you can’t see the breeze, you can visualize the effects of it, by the leaves blowing & by hearing the whistle of the breeze through the leaves. That way you know that the breeze is real, though you can’t see the breeze.” Gary believed in Jesus, though he didn’t have a regular church. He regularly attended any of the services Homestead provided, while he resided in Assisted Living. He prayed often, & interestingly journaled daily about what was going on in his life… until he couldn’t write anymore. He began journaling while in Calif & continued journaling daily year in & year out, noting how special his children and friends were & how special his kids treated him.
Gary is survived by his 3 children he loved dearly i.e.; his son, Greg Thomas, of KCMO, (the eldest), Teresa Quintero of Parkville MO, then followed by Gizele Bell of Lakewood Calif, the youngest. His 3 grandchildren are; Jill Thomas & Jessica Bell-Okerstrom (Gizele’s girls) & Kenneth Franklin (Greg’s son). Teresa became his caretaker later in his life as his Alzheimer’s took root, & he needed oversight with his care. Teresa moved Gary to DeSoto after the tornado hit Gary’s Linwood farmhouse in 2019. Two years later in June 2021, she moved him into a duplex in Eudora, & finally into Homestead Assisted Living of Eudora, KS, 6 months later in December of 2021, after Gary began having multiple falls while living on his own & needed more daily assistance. The Eudora Fire Dept 2 blocks away, became Gary’s best friend! Gary was proceeded in death by both of his parents, Richard Lee Thomas, Faye Thomas, & his sister, Donna Dick of Calif. Faye’s sisters, May, Sadie, Edith & Marjorie, along with his cousins by his Aunt Edith Falkenstein, Max Falkenstein & Max’s sister Sandra, who Gary had many fond childhood memories with, including riding horses around the farm & to Mount Blue SE of the old homestead. Homemade ice cream & family picnics were common at Gary’s parents farm & became cherished memories for him, as well as Gary’s children.
On Saturday, January 18, 2025, both a visitation & Life Celebration will be held back-to-back at Acacia Lodge No. 9, located at 1301 E 25th Street, Lawrence, KS 66046 for Gary L. Thomas 86 of Eudora KS. A “Coffee & Donuts” visitation with family & friends, will be held in honor of Gary’s love for socializing over coffee & donuts from 9:00am-10:00am with his Life Celebration event to follow, from 10:00am-11:00am. There will be no public graveside service.
In lieu of flowers, Gary’s daughter Teresa asks that you either comment on the Warren McElwain Obituary page with your memories & stories of Gary or contact her directly via Warren-McElwain Mortuary, so she can gather stories for Gary’s Celebration of Life.
For more information or to post a condolence go to warrenmcelwain.com.
My heart felt condolences go out to Gary’s family
Greg, Teresa & Gizele. My father was a great friend of Gary & family. I remember my last encounter vividly with Mr. Thomas as he was the door man & bouncer at “ Just a Playhouse “ in the late 80’s and early 1990’s as I recall.
I remember when I was still in Grade School our fathers ( Gary & Art) pitted Greg & I against each other in a boxing match in the Thomas’s living room. The match was pretty even, but I would say Greg got the best of me overall.
RIP Mr. Thomas & I call you Mr. Thomas because you very much deserve that complete respect.
So sorry to hear about Gary. My Condolences goes out to the Thomas family. I will always remember that smile he had. I remember the first time I met him was through my dad and cousin Chuck. He was a wonderful guy . My heart goes out to you all. 💔.
Rest in peace old friend
Sorry to hear about Gary, knew him from his bouncer days and after. Gary was a great friend and always had some thing good to say about people. Miss his talks we used to have. God Bless you Gary and enjoy your new life that you are entering. Will see you again some day and know we will pick up right where we left off.
Sending thoughts and prayers to family and friends. I will miss you uncle gary so much and miss hearing all the stories of you and dad and the rest of the crew being ornery. Love always little Charlie rip
So sorry for the family and friends loss.
Gary I never got to visit with you as you were gone the evening I came over but I left a note and no worries as I will see you again someday. God bless.
I will miss him so much. I was a teenager when I met him. My brother Mike knew him. He married DeWayne and I in Florida. I got to have him stay with us. Prayers to the family.
I am sorry to hear of Gary’s passing, I grew up with the Gizele back in the days and knew Teresa, Thoughts and prayers for the family.
We’re so sorry to learn that Gary has passed. He was a very pleasant man and we felt he truly enjoyed and loved the company of everyone he met. Our condolences to Greg, Teresa Quintero, Gizelle and his son-in-law, Victor Quintero.
Gary Thomas was a good man. I first met Gary when I came to Lawrence in 1991. We spent a lot of time together over the years. Gary will be missed by many but his memories will live on with us forever. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
There are so so many stories from uncle gary that he would tell me from his younger days and running with my dad Chuck rockhold and other dad Jimmy parker…but one story and memory that I have I was way way little in the Congo bar and even though uncle gary knew my dad hated snakes he walked in to the Congo with a boa around his neck and walked toward my dad when my dad see it he jumped up ran behind the bar picking up sissy haas and took off through the back out back door yelling g*d da*n you gary…i have so many he married my momma Paula and Chuck Feb 5th 1998 after they had been together 21 yr and he also married my sister and her husband. He was also the one that did my parent funerals because he knew just how to do it.
I was helped and harvesters for awhile and even when I stopped uncle gary always seemed to be making his way through all the cars just to find me ans ask me if I was OK and that he loved me and promised my dad to take care of me and the rest of the family and then always lead to one or six stories and I loved everyone
I had a chance to meet Mr. Gary when he would visit our neighbor. He was one of the nicest gentle I have ever meet. May he rest in peace.
God Bless and my Condolence to his family.
I met Gary back in the 1970’s because I have been friends with his daughter Teresa since then. I remember when Teresa and I were getting ready to go out and have some fun on a weekend night, Gary would always tell Teresa to call him if she ever needs help so he could kick the guys a#! If need be!
I remember one time when my boyfriend, Randy was going to help Gary paint his house and I went along to help too. I ended up spilling a whole gallon of paint! But Gary didn’t get upset at all, he was so nice and didn’t make me feel bad about it.
Gary will be missed by me and everyone I know that knows him.
I never met Gary but had a friendship with Teresa at Lawrence High. From the other posts I see I have missed out not knowing him. My heart goes out to all that did.
Teresa, it wasn’t but a week ago I thought of you. I’m sorry you’ve lost your dad, yet you are blessed with memories to hold in your heart. In those memories, he is forever with you.
Laurie Sommer
I met Gary when my mom was at Homestead Assistant Living. He was excited to find out I knew his mom because she was a teacher in Eudora. I was not her student but my brother was when he was in 8th grade. We visited so many times. I loved to tease him about “ breaking out” when a friend picked him up to go out. He gave me a business card that showed he was a minister. Deepest sympathy to his family.
I met Gary at Homestead, in Memory Care while my Mom lived there.
He would always greet me with a big smile, point at me approaching him, and say,
“ I love your smile”
He was very kind to other residents and would make sure to let the staff know if another resident needed help, or someone was on the floor!
His daughter Teresa and I became friends too.
Gary and Teresa danced together during the music they had on the Assisting Living side.
It was priceless!
He loved his time away from the facility when Teresa would take him out, for walks around the lake, or just going to Walmart together.
When our huge family gathered in the front activity room, the week our Mom passed,
Gary wandered in at 9:00 PM, saw our pizza boxes on the table, and helped himself.
Guess he thought it was pizza night!
We loved it!
Thank you Gary, and family, for the sacrifices as you served our country!
Rest in peace sweet Gary!
Prayers for his family, during this difficult time.
Gary, my husband Ray and I were LHS classmates. One of my favorite stories about Gary was when all three of us shared an English class our junior year. The class was taught be a young effeminate-acting male. One afternoon following an FFA field trip, Gary placed a snake in the teacher’s desk drawer. When the teacher opened the drawer during class and saw the snake, he shrieked, jumped up in his chair and cried, “I HATE snakes!” How do I know this story? Because it was Ray who caught said snake on the field trip and gave it to Gary.
My sincere condolences to Gary’s family.
My heart is broken that sweet Gary has passed. My Mama, Pat, also lives at Homestead. When she first got there, Gary became one of her best friends. He greeted me with his beautiful smile and always told me I had a beautiful smile. On November 3rd, I called my brother so that Mama could wish him Happy Birthday. I put the phone on speaker so we could sing to him. Gary was walking by and stopped to sing with us. I will always cherish that memory. My greatest joy was being able to tell Gary that I loved him the week before he passed. Thank you for sharing your Daddy with us. Much love ❤️
Teresa and I are best friends. I met her Dad, Gary, at church and wish I could have known him better. Though from all the years I have known Teresa I know he was a loving and caring father. And I have been blessed to know he was an exceptional, generous, fun loving and
caring friend to all who knew him.
I met Gary while he was at Homestead on the memory care. He would always tell me fun stories and then start laughing about them! He would go out to exercise and take a good nap! He would always tell people they had a good smile and he would always tell me I was a sweet heart! Me and my mom (Jenny the former DON of Homestead) will miss him so much!
Gary Thomas was a great friend someone who I will miss. Every time I would go to Linwood I would ask my friend Jerry Long how Gary was doing. When I met Gary at the bar in Linwood, Jerry introduced me as the best cowgirl around. Then I was known as Gary’s farrier the would trim his Mule and horse. I will miss Gary and all his stories we had something in common as I enjoyed telling jokes and we would always share a few jokes. May you rest in peace Gary Thomas my Friend. Loved you so much. ❤️
Gary will be missed by so many; he was a true LEGAND! My heart hurts for all the loved ones he left behind. Gary was a BADASS! There are very few that have a story like Gary. He had a heart of GOLD! Loyal, compassionate, funny, handsome, hardworking, tuff, animal lover, got your back all day long… the list goes on. He was a true friend, and I miss him so very much! Gary was so very proud of his family! I will see you “LATER” Gary!
Gary you will be missed. I have known you almost all of my life, Moved to Rhode Island st. when I was 6 and Gary and family lived right down the blk. I remember his tree trimming trucks parked of an evening. I recall the sign on the trks was a monkey hanging by his tail from a branch of a tree. Too a 6-year-old he was like a superman. Use to follow him around the town where he would have a tree cutting job and just watch and help pick up limbs all day. When they move to California you were missed. 15 years later I gave a friend of mine and his girlfriend a ride home, she told me she lived on RI st. and when we pulled up in front of Thomas’ house, I told her I knew the family that live here years ago, she told me they have always owned that house. I ask what her last name was she said Thomas. I ask if she knew a Gary? She said he is my dad. I spent many times with him after that. Running to Topeka to see a buddy of his Trashcan Harry as I remember. I remember going to bars like the playhouse, Congo, and back then even the country Kitchen even needed a bouncer. They were good days Farewell my good friend.