George Aden Thomas

North Canton, OH – George Aden Thomas, age 90, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family, on October 14, 2024. George was born on September 26, 1934 in Quechee, Vermont, the son of Con and Grace (Darling) Thomas.

George was a loving husband, brother, father, and grandfather to his family, and good friend to countless people in the various places he lived over the course of his life. Although his final years were made more challenging by the pandemic lock-down and his wife’s advancing Alzheimer’s, George maintained an upbeat outlook on life and enjoyed his outings with family in Ohio in his final years.

When George was young, the mill where his father worked in Quechee, VT closed, and his family moved from New England to Daytona Beach, FL, where George grew up and graduated from Mainland Senior High School, Magna Cum Laude. The family lived in humble surroundings, with his father Con growing much of the produce that the family ate on their property. After graduation, George became the first person in his family to go to college, at the University of Oklahoma, where he played in the marching band and enrolled in the Navy ROTC, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering.

Following college, George enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he worked under Admiral Hyman G. Rickover on the foundation of the Nuclear Navy. There, George helped design the propulsion system for the first nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. Nautilus, and then transferred into Naval Intelligence at the height of the Cold War.

It was while he was stationed in Washington, D.C., that George met the love of his life, Dorothy Huston. After his discharge from the Navy, George and Dorothy were married and relocated to New York State to start a family with son, Drew and daughter, Mara.

During the course of their marriage, George’s work took the family from Irvington, NY to Rochester, NY; Paris, France; Old Greenwich, CT; Mexico City, Mexico; and back to Rochester. George continued his education, earning Master's degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics. George and Dorothy retired to Sarasota, FL, where they built a new life, making great friends, enjoying the cultural offerings and volunteering at various organizations. In his retirement years, George engaged in a variety of pastimes that he wanted to explore and displayed a great aptitude for, including painting watercolors, writing short stories and other fiction, taking up piano, and tutoring math at a local public high school. Throughout his life, George was a very generous man (over the course of his life he donated over 20 gallons of blood to the Red Cross). They also enjoyed traveling extensively in retirement, taking river cruises through Europe, visiting friends in Australia, going on safari in Africa, and visiting Costa Rica, New Zealand and Hawaii.

George is pre-deceased by his parents, Con and Grace (Darling) Thomas; his half-sisters, Dorothy (Moore) Hayes and Madeline (Moore) Groh; and his half-brother, Arthur Grace. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Thomas of North Canton, OH; his sister, Carol (Thomas) Spear of Glen Saint Mary, FL; his sister-in-law, Lorraine Doyle of North Scituate, RI; his daughter, Mara and husband Charles Gillogly of North Canton, OH; son, Drew and wife Lisa Harp of San Mateo, CA; and grandchildren, William Thomas, Kennedy Gillogly, and Shane Gillogly.

A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held sometime in 2025 with extended family. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org.