Donald William Thomas was born in Angora, Nebraska on December 13, 1920. He was the fifth of seven children born to Rufus Kenneth and Tina Avery Wood. Rufus was born in Trigg County, Kentucky in 1882 and had moved to western Nebraska in the early 1900s. It was there he met his wife, Tina Wood and they were married on June 9, 1909 in Alliance, Nebraska.
Don’s six siblings were Leonard Gotch Thomas, born in 1911; Russell Kenneth Thomas, born in 1917; Mildred Lavina Thomas, born in 1915; Dorothy May Thomas, born in 1917; Leo Vern Thomas, born in 1923 and Betty Thomas, born in 1931.
Don attended high school in Alliance and in 1942 he joined the US Army. He went on to serve in the European, African and Middle Eastern Theaters during the war. He was in the 59th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. On October 17, 1945, he was discharged from the army and he returned to his home in Alliance.
During the time Don was in the military, he was stationed at Fort Smith, Arkansas when he married Opal Henley on February 27, 1943. Opal was from his home town of Alliance. Opal and Don were divorced on May 18, 1951.
In January of 1953, Don along with his brother, Leo moved to Waneta, Nebraska. There they formed the Thomas Gas Service which was a propane gas distributing business. Don and Leo were very successful with the business.
On October 10, 1953, Don married his second wife, Bonnie Marie Berry in McCook, Nebraska. Bonnie was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chester Berry of Wauneta, Don and Bonnie had their only child, Debra Kay Thomas, who was born on September 20, 1954.
Don Thomas lost his life in a tragic accident on Sunday evening, November 7, 1954 when he was drowned In Enders Lake, Nebraska. Don and Bonnie, along with their six-week-old daughter, Debra and their close friends, Fred Heldenbrand and his wife had spent most of Sunday afternoon boating on the lake. As it neared dusk, shortly after five o'clock, they brought the boat to shore at the dock on the north side of the lake and all of them left the boat preparing to go home. During the afternoon ride they all had worn life jackets but had removed them as the boat was brought to the dock. Fred Heldenbrand went to a nearby location to get the pickup truck and boat trailer to load the boat for the return trip home. Don decided that the boat should be loaded on the trailer from the opposite direction as to where they had docked it, and said he was going to take one more little spin on the lake so as to bring the craft in from the direction in which he wanted to load it on the trailer. Don had taken off his life Jacket and donned a heavy coat. As he was turning the boat around in the water it capsized throwing him into the lake. He was not a good swimmer and being handicapped by the cold water, was not able to make any progress toward the dock which was some 200 yards from where the boat had capsized. Fred quickly sent the ladies to get help while he tried to help Don. He shouted for Don to make for the overturned boat Instead of trying to swim to shore. Fred entered the water and tried to swim to Don’s assistance. However, the very cold water and cramps forced him to return to shore and Don was unable to get back to the boat. Several members of the local fire departments, and a large number of other people quickly responded as the call for help, but they were unable to rescue him. His body was not recovered until the following Monday afternoon, where it found not far from where the location of the overturned boat had been marked in water, about 50 feet deep and where there were strong undercurrents. Don was 34 years old at the time of the accident.
Don was still involved in the gas distributing business at the time of his death.
Don was buried in the Alliance Cemetery in Alliance, Nebraska.
(LINEAGE: Donald William Thomas was the son of Rufus Kenneth and Tina Avery Wood Thomas, grandson of William Henry and Sidney Dyer Thomas, and great-grandson of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas. Stanley was the second child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas. Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas. Mary was the seventh child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)
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