Bill Thomas

March 26, 1927 – October 20, 2018

Billy Joe “Bill” Thomas was born March 26, 1927, in El Reno, Oklahoma to Eula Mabel (Howell) Thomas and Robert Taylor “R.T.” Thomas. He was the third of their four children. He passed away at his home in Norman, Oklahoma, on October 20, 2018, at the age of 91.

A memorial service for Bill will be held at 2 p.m., Oct. 30, 2018, at Primrose Funeral Home, 1109 N. Porter Avenue, Norman, Oklahoma. Internment will follow.

From the age of 11, Bill lived most of his life in Norman. Shortly after he and his family moved there, one of his aunts invited the family to First Baptist Church. Bill, his parents and older two siblings later attended a revival and were baptized all at once at that church.

Bill, who was also called Joe by his family, attended Norman public schools and graduated from Norman High School in May 25, 1945. In high school, Bill’s favorite class was shop and he was encouraged by one of the few female shop teachers working in the public school system at that time. After high school, Bill worked at a variety of jobs, often working more than one job at a time. He was adept at anything that required skilled labor. He was known to be an excellent mechanic, electrician and carpenter. Over time, he was the “go to” person for his family and extended family whenever anything, mechanical or otherwise, went wrong with a car or house. Whenever called, he showed up promptly and fixed it, no ifs, ands or buts. He was a great support to his parents, especially as they aged, and took care of all their needs, including the time he repainted their three-story prairie-style house at 303 Chautauqua Avenue in Norman, with its dozens of windows.

On April 12, 1947, Bill married Mildred McReynolds. They had three children from that union.

Bill’s children remember him as a father who worked hard and included them in several memorable activities, whether it was going to chop down and take home Christmas trees, winding the big clock in the tower at the University of Oklahoma’s Memorial Union – one of several jobs he had in his early years – or going on camping and fishing trips. He was also much beloved by his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, who all attest to the many ways he helped them over the years. He was a patient teacher and known for his calm presence.

Of all his various jobs, Bill was most proud of his employment with the U.S. Postal Service, where he served in various capacities for 37 years. Bill was a popular mail carrier who knew everyone’s name on his route. Even after retirement, Bill could recite the exact description of any given address on his former routes. During his tenure, Bill worked tirelessly as a union representative with the Postal Carrier’s Union, where he also served as steward and branch president.

After Bill’s first marriage ended, he became reacquainted with a long-time high school acquaintance, Marjorie Townley. They married and spent many happy years together, working on home projects, and traveling to Europe and Alaska. In retirement, Bill made good use of his garage, spending many productive hours working on his favorite hobby, carpentry and woodworking. He tore out and custom designed the couple’s kitchen cabinets, and added a built-in hutch. He also re-tiled most of the house on his own.

Before and after his retirement, Bill remained a devoted fan of the University of Oklahoma sports program, especially the Sooner football and wrestling teams. He loved traveling to the OU wrestling tournaments and hob-knobbing with the team and its fans. In the off season and in those days when Bill was not as active outside the home, he was known to watch re-runs of older football games on his large screen TV. Bill and Marjorie were avid Democrats, following the local, state and national races closely over the years. He enjoyed participating in good conversation on the issues. They were also members of First Christian Church, Norman.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, R.T. and Eula Thomas of Norman; his brother, Robert Lee “Bob” Thomas of Oklahoma City; and his grandson, Robert Dale Thomas of Arkansas.

He is survived by his wife, Marjorie Thomas, of the home; his daughter, Cynthia Thomas Smith (Dennis) of Tulsa; his son, Charles Anthony Thomas (Lisa) of Broken Arrow; his son, Michael Allen Thomas (Kathleen) of Port Huron, MI; and his sisters, Eddie Ruth Richardson of Claremore and Janette Marks of Norman.

Bill is also survived by his step daughter, Lisa Schleicher, and step son, Thomas Schleicher, both of Norman; and his step son Charles Schleicher (Antonia) of Madison, WI.

Other survivors include Bill’s grandchildren: Scott Smith, Colorado; Shana Smith, Tulsa; Chuck, April and Patience Thomas, all of Tulsa; and Chad Thomas, Athena Dobbs, Korinne Thomas and Kyle Thomas, all of Michigan; and several great-grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.