Thomas D. Thomas

Our hearts are heavy as we say goodbye to an incredible man – a husband, dad, stepdad, Grandpa and Grampy who meant the world to us all.

Thomas D. Thomas of Emporia, died on Friday, November 29, 2024, at Newman Regional Health.  He was 80.

Tom was born on August 20, 1944, in Highland Park, Michigan, the son of Gordon and Mary June Beamon Thomas.  He married Sandra Fleming, and they later divorced.  He married Helen Carpenter Cooper on September 23, 1994, in Kansas City.

He is survived by his wife Helen Thomas of Emporia; son, Eric Thomas of Emporia; daughter Paule Lewis (Christopher) of Valrico, Florida; stepson, Spencer Cooper (Brandy) of Olathe; stepdaughters, Jen Elliott  (Chad) of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and Sue Forbes (Matt) of Olathe; grandchildren, Taylor and Emerson Thomas, Nickolas and Jason Lewis, Cooper, Grant, and Burke Hovious, Braden and Carter Forbes, and Dillon and Brandon Cooper; sister, Sharon Beekman of Littleton, Colorado; brother-in-law, Jim Carpenter (Grace) of St. Louis, Missouri.

He is preceded in death by his parents, brother Greg Thomas and sisters, Jackie Jo Thomas and Sandra Gaskin.

Tom was a Certified Public Accountant and shareholder from 1974 to 2015 at Agler & Gaeddert Charted in Emporia. He was active in the Kansas Society of Certified Public Accountants and a longtime member of the Peer Review Committee. He served as a trustee for the Trusler Foundation and was a member of the Advisory Board for the Walter S. and Evan C. Jones Trust, also serving as President of the Board of Directors. Tom was a former director of the Emporia Public School Foundation and on the United Way Budget Committee for many years. He was a longtime member of Rotary International and participated in the Buddy Reader Program at Walnut School.  Tom loved spending time with family, traveling, restoring antiques, and playing the harmonica.

Cremation is planned with a Memorial Service at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, December 7, 2024, at the First United Methodist Church in Emporia.  Memorial contributions to the Alzheimer’s Association or the First United Methodist Church can be sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, P.O. Box 175, Emporia, Kansas 66801.