William Thomas

William Thomas (nee Perlberg), 94, of Saint Clair Shores, Michigan. July 13, 2017. William was born in Ironwood, Michigan. His parents were Frederick and Theresa. He attended St. Ambrose school and became interested in aviation, fueled by the passion of one of his teachers, Sister Aquinas, who was known as “The Flying Nun”. Upon completing high school, he served in Ironwood’s Camp Norrie Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). He then enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps (Today's United States Air Force) on his 20th birthday.

He completed his basic training at Harlingen Air Force Base in Harlingen, Texas. After basic, he was sent to the Willow Run Assembly Plant, in Michigan, to learn the skills to become an airplane mechanic.

Upon completion of this training, William was shipped to the South Pacific and was based on Guam. There he worked on the Consolidated B-24 Liberators, which were instrumental in many strategic bombing missions in the Pacific Arena. He was honorably discharged in February, 1946 at the Separation Center at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.

After WWII, William married his high school sweetheart, Erma (nee Bertini) (deceased). He worked for a short stint at the fish hatchery in Drayton Plains, Michigan. He then was hired by Chrysler Corporation. After working on the assembly line for many years, he took an apprenticeship to become a tool & die maker. He retired from Chrysler in December, 1976.

In April of 2010, William had the opportunity to take part in a “Pride and Honor” flight to Washington, DC. The flights were arranged to honor World War II Veterans, who are deservedly called, “America's Greatest Generation”.

He was an avid fisherman, spending many hours on Lake Saint Clair, with various family members, in pursuit of muskellunge, walleye, and perch and occasionally fished Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior for lake trout and salmon. He also enjoyed square dancing, traveling throughout the United States, golf, bowling and an occasional visit to the casino. Those who knew him enjoyed his many stories of his childhood days with his 5 brothers and 4 sisters, various tales of WW II, and recounting many family memories. He truly will be missed.

He is survived by four children: Robert (Carol), Richard (Leesa), David (Lisa), and Patricia Moore (David), 11 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren.

His funeral will be held at 10 am, at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church on Saturday, September 23, 2017.