Ralph K. Thomas
Ralph Keith Thomas was born February 12, 1940 in the Lamasco community of Lyon County, Kentucky. He was the second of four children born to Wallace Eric Thomas and Maudie Ethelyn Cotton Thomas. Wallace was a native of Trigg County and Ethelyn was a native of Lyon County, Kentucky. Wallace was a farmer and was a great-grandson of Starkie Thomas.
Ralph’s siblings were Zelma Marie Thomas, born in 1938 and married Claude Robert Harrison; Anthony Wade Thomas, born in 1941; and Peggy Yvonne Thomas, born in 1943 and married James Elmer Tomlin, Jr.
Ralph’s parents moved from Lyon County to Trigg County in the 1940s and he attended Trigg County Schools, graduating from Trigg County High School in 1958.
Ralph’s first marriage was to Dorothy Joanne Noel, a native of Trigg County. Joanne was born on January 8, 1943 and was the daughter of Richard Charlie Noel and Edith Louise Stevens Noel. This marriage ended in divorce and on October 17, 1975, Ralph married Helen Ann Sutton Bush, a native of Crittenden County, Kentucky. Helen was born on March 29, 1944 and was the daughter of Roscoe Bradley Sutton and Mabel Lucille Hargrove Sutton. Roscoe was a native of Whitley County, Kentucky and was a farmer. Lucille was a native of Trigg County and was a descendant of Charity Bridges.
On June 20, 1966, he became one of the first employees hired at a new Cadiz manufacturing facility known as the Hoover Ball and Bearing Company, which would later become Johnson Controls. His first job at the plant was an assembler. Ralph’s impressive work ethic soon caused him to be moved up the ladder as he was promoted to Supervisor of the Assembly Department. It was soon followed another promotion to Industrial Engineer. After holding this position for several years, he was promoted to Quality Control Manager. Under Ralph’s leadership the plant acquired the Ford Q1 Quality Award. After this success, he became the Divisional Quality Manger and later became the plant’s Supplier Quality Development Engineer. Ralph retired from Johnson Controls in 2004 after 38 successful years of dedicated service.
Ralph not only excelled in his work career; he was also a dedicated supporter of the youth baseball program in his home county. For many decades he volunteered his time and love of the sport as a coach, mentor and role model to many boys and girls not only on the baseball fields but also in life. Ralph was also a dedicated member of the Thomas-Bridges Association, serving as President and on the Board for many years. He was always at the front line promoting and preserving his family heritage.
Ralph and his first wife Joanne were the parents of two daughters, Tina Louise Thomas, born in 1963 and Toni Lee Thomas, born in 1965. He had three step-children from his marriage to Helen, Sheryl Ann Adams, born in 1961 and married Michael H. Goforth; Donald Ray Bush, Jr., born in 1966 and married Pamela Kelly P’Pool; and Ronald Dean Bush, born in 1971 and married Dana J. Brooks.
Ralph died on December 30, 2023 at the age of 83 at the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz, KY. He was buried in the Trigg Memory Acres in Cadiz.
In August 2025, a plaque commissioned by the Trigg County Fiscal Court was unveiled at the Trigg County Recreation Complex naming the home of the Lady Wildcats softball team in his honor. Ralph spent many of his summers coaching on the baseball diamonds of the complex.
Ralph at his casual best
A young Ralph
LINEAGE: (Ralph Keith Thomas was the son of Wallace Eric and Maudie Ethelyn Cotton Thomas and the grandson of John Spurlin and Hattie Lee Ricks Thomas. John was the seventh child of James Jasper and Mary Magadaline Cunningham Thomas. James was the fourth child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas. Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)
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