Kathleen Hanna purchased the Enchanted Cottage for the family of John Robert Thomas.

Loved it when John was coming for a golf lesson.  He was passionate about his golf and was always mystified by how hard it was to do the things we wanted to get his body to do.  I think that was part of the appeal of golf to him because I doubt there were to many things he had ever done that he could not get pretty efficient at but as all of us golfers know it is a tough sport with lots of ups and downs.  I think he always enjoyed the chase of the consistent solid contact and the euphoric feel when we would find it.  I miss his determination and grit to get it.  Thanks for all the memories.   J. R. Ables

Beautiful in Blue was purchased for the family of John Robert Thomas.

Although I only worked with John for a few years at Kegler Brown, I developed an admiration and respect for John as a person and as a lawyer.  John was truly a scholar that took his profession to heart striving to do the best he could to both help his clients and his colleagues. John was truly a gentleman and a man of integrity. I think that it was in a way easy for him to be that way because he treated his profession and all the people that crossed his path the right way making it second nature to be open and honest and without any regrets. John will be missed.  My deepest condolences to his family.

Page 3 of Tim's memories 
see below for pages 1 &2

for their academic and athletic achievements.  Most of all, we remember his loving reference to Mary Lou, as the “saint” at his side, through thick and thin.  Thanks to all of you, for truly making John’s life one full of fulfillment and joy.
GO BUCKS!!

Dear John
Thank you for the time, kindness, patience, interest, and mentorship you expressed and imprinted on me.  Having your leadership and guidance from a very young age impacted my life in an extremely positive way.  
I remember our Great Aunts, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents (O’Neal) referring to you as “Jackie”.  You were the first of a lot of cousins on both sides of the family.  You were the favorite and most admired and earned it by being the first in college and law school.  I remember all the family asking about “Jackie” with admiration and pride.  
I am glad you got 5 years as the only child and 9 years as one of two brothers.  I believe that helped you achieve your success in school, and confidence to leave the nest and make your mark.  During the 1950s and 60s, life in the Thomas household was one of survival.  I remember electricity being turned off.  (I remember watching the utility man turn off our electricity due to non-payment.)   We lacked food, clothes, (wore socks for gloves in the winter).  We would go to the lumber yard to find scrap wood to use in the fireplace, to keep the house warm when the utilities were off.  Borrowing money from, and using the laundry facilities of, our relatives was a life lesson!  Adversity builds character, and example gives hope.  Thank you, John, for giving us that hope and showing us character!
I remember you fixing scrambled eggs for us, early in the morning, during the summer, before heading out to practice tennis.  I remember Brother Mike rushing into the kitchen with his tennis shorts in hand exclaiming “there’s a spider in my shorts” and giving them a good shake.  The spider landed in the middle of my scrambled eggs!  I didn’t care for eggs for a long time after that.  I remember us spending hours together from my age 5 to 9, playing tennis at Snyder Park, Reid Park, and across the street from our house at the Nursing School tennis court.  Thank you, John, for being my Life and Tennis Coach.  
You were 9 years old when I entered this world and I was 9 when you left for “The “Ohio State University” (OSU) on a tennis academic scholarship.  You didn’t abandon your four younger brothers, even though in 1960, Columbus felt like it was light years away, (42 miles to your dorm).  My four brothers and I admired you from afar and counted the days till you would be home for school breaks.  Thank you for not forgetting your brothers.  
Pat and I remember the OSU Football tickets you gave us.  Dad drove us over for the game and dropped us at the “Shoe”.  Dad turned the car around and headed back to Springfield, looking into the rear view mirror to see us waving at him, which surprised and thrilled him.  Geez, the boys waved good-bye!  Our waving was frantically trying to get his attention.  We forgot the tickets!!  We wandered around the outside of the stadium, looking for a way to get in, when a lady approached us and asked us if we would like two tickets.  Lucky us, but the next step was to find John among the eighty thousand fans that day…  We walked in and ran into John at a concession stand, within 10 minutes.  Wow!  We had a great time at that game, John.  Thank you, John, for introducing us to OSU.
(MEMORIES FROM JOHN'S BROTHER, TIM, CONTINUED BELOW)

My summers were filled with tennis and John contributed to that by inviting me to spend a week or two with him, in the summer, during his summer break from college.  He had tennis coaching jobs at several different private tennis country clubs, during his college summers.  The first one I remember was the Cleveland Skating Club.  The club had skating in the winter and tennis in the summer.   It was my opportunity to see how the other side lived.  John and I shared a room in a frat house. I was in the 6th or 7th grade.  John and Coach Hendricks, his OSU tennis coach, worked with me on my tennis game.  Geez, I remember riding the train from Springfield to Cleveland by myself.  John took me to the amusement park in Cleveland and I rode a rollercoaster for the first time.  While tennis was the goal of my trip, it was more the exposure to the other side of the tracks that influenced me the most.  Living in a frat house and visits to an amusement park, private club access, and parties at mansions got me hoping that could be me one day.  Thank you, John, for opening up the world to me.
My visits with John came with responsibilities that I had to achieve each day I was visiting him.  We were up at dawn, out the door and at the club, way before members arrived for the day.  We would prepare the courts, by watering the clay courts, rolling them and sweeping the lines.  This would go on all day.  I would also help John with his clinics and private lessons.  I got proficient at picking up tennis balls.  I remember John sending me home early one day, (6pm), because he knew I was exhausted.  John only had one key to his apartment.  When I got home, I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.  John arrived at 8pm and knocked, pounded at the door, but to no avail.  He then came around to the bedroom window and woke me up.  I said OK, I would let him in and then, immediately fell back to sleep!   Oooops, he had to come back around and wake me for the second time to let him in.  We both liked telling that story.  John did let me continue to visit in the summers in spite of locking him out.  Thanks, John, for your loving patience. 
By the way, working at these private clubs is where John picked up his passion for golf.  The private clubs, where John worked, were closed on Mondays to members, but available to employees to play golf.
Another fun memory for me, was John getting me out of 7th grade class, to ride with him to Cleveland to watch the Davis Cup tennis match between the US and Australia.  I remember seeing Arthur Ashe, Rod Laver and so many other famous players that day.  That was the day I introduced him to the Kinks, and their hit song “You Really Got Me”.
One last story, which you will appreciate.  I remember the first time Courtney enthusiastically ran up to her stoic, not naturally demonstrative, Uncle John and gave him a Big Hug.  Aww, the look on his face was priceless.  He was looking around for help, thinking what do I do?  …before breaking into that effortless smile that we all loved.  Lucky for Courtney, and for her Uncle John, she was oblivious and got to hug her Uncle John whenever she pleased! 
While John’s passion was “THE” Ohio State Buckeyes, his family was his pride and joy.  Mary Lou, Jimmy, and Rob were an important part of our family and we will never forget the many Christmases spent together.  My brother, Terry, has fond memories of the many hours of conversation with John and Mary Lou. Terry, I think they are still capitalists!
Thank you, Mary Lou, Jim and Rob, for creating the uplifting memories John carried with him, as he headed into his next adventure, side by side with his companion, Rhett.  He was so proud of Jim and wife, Pam, and of Rob and wife, Jennie, for using their great talents to help make a better world for us all.  He also loved to brag about his grandkids – Jim and Pam’s girls, Emma Jean (named after John’s mother) and Charlotte, and Rob and Jennie’s children, Skylar, Gabe and John Robert – for

John R Thomas, was the oldest brother of 5 boys, Mike, Tim, Pat and me Terry in the family of Byron and Jean Thomas of Springfield, Ohio. Our second oldest brother, Mike died on the same date, last year.  Crazy coincidence. My earliest memories of John involved him picking me up at Aunt Kate’s, every afternoon of my kindergarten year. I would ride home on the handlebars of his bike. I don’t remember being scared at all, it was just what we did back then. I remember when he went off to OSU, I missed him so much that Mom had to take me over to his dorm in OSU stadium to wave at him. My other brothers reminded me that they were not happy that I was getting Fridays off to do that,(weird that I do not remember ever really talking to him on those trips). I never asked him what he thought about that time period. John served as a role model to us boys as to how to be successful. He went to OSU on scholarships (Tennis and Academic?) I somewhat reach a milestone( in pursuing that role model) in that I won the Springfield  18 and under tennis title the same day John won the Columbus Men’s Tennis title. Sports were important to John, I think that discipline helped with his lawyer career. It seemed apparent that OSU sports in particular was his passion. When the brothers would visit John and Marylou (and later Jim and Rob, his sons) at Christmas, OSU games were really important, and we would watch on that little TV in kitchen.  One time( I was in college) while visiting John and Marylou we had a spirited discussion on Capitalist and Socialist ideologies. I remember John emphasizing that when debating, always smile when things get heated, it throws off the opponent. I heard from Mom that John was too ethical to make lots of money at lawyering, which just highlighted his sense of justice I got from discussing politics with him. How or why he and Marylou went with us on our family’s trip to Montreal, Expo 1967, I am not sure, but I remember developing friendship with Marylou during this trip. I remember he and Marylou supporting the Siberian Tiger exhibit at the Columbus Zoo. It seemed as a young student, they were doing all the right things in life. Thanks for that guidance John. May you rest in peace. Terry

My husband, Tim Thomas, loved and respected his brother John greatly.  The few times we met up, I found John to be a gentle and joyful soul.  We look forward to celebrating his life with family and friends in the near future.
Cordially,
Johanna Bot-Thomas
Houston, Texas

John was a wonderful person and I learned a lot from him over the 20+ years I worked as his legal assistant.  My prayers go out to his entire family. John will be sorely missed.  - Wendy Alberts

OBITUARY

John Robert Thomas

October 28, 1942 – April 27, 2018

Schoedinger Midtown

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