Edwin Knights Thomas

Born in Bangor, Maine, on September 4, 1926, he was the son of Albert Hale and Hazel (Knights) Thomas. Ed was raised and educated in Lincoln, Maine, a proud graduate of the Mattanawcook Academy class of 1944. He was Class President and a letterman, active in several sports including the 1943 State Championship Track Team.

Ed enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II, where his mathematical aptitude led him to serve as an Electronic Technician’s Mate, Third Class. After WWII, Ed enrolled in the University of Maine, where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity and where he received his Electrical Engineering Degree in 1950. During his time at UMaine, he met his beloved wife, Loretta White, with whom he shared nearly 70 years of marriage.

Ed moved to Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1950, before settling in Sudbury in 1953, where he and Loretta raised three sons. He was hired by Raytheon’s Percy Spencer, inventor of the microwave oven, in 1950, and worked as an Engineer, overseeing the development of military guidance systems for the Raytheon Microwave Power Tube Division for over 35 years. He was active in the Toastmaster’s Club, where he enhanced his already advanced ability to converse with others.

Ed was a dedicated member of the Sudbury Memorial Congregational Church where he contributed his enthusiastic, if less than melodious voice, to the choir & annual Messiah Sing and served as past Deacon. He was a generous and intelligent man who donated countless hours to his community, as Little League coach, Troop Leader for Boy Scout Troop 60, volunteer at the Sudbury Community Food Pantry and as a Handyman for the Sudbury Senior Center, where he was also involved in creating and teaching classes on a wide array of subjects including Chinese culture, Islam and Roman history. He was a charter member of the Peakham Road Civic Association, a weekly volleyball club that played at Peter Noyes School. He was a member in good standing of the Horeb Masonic Lodge of Lincoln, Maine, since 1948.

Ed was a lifelong student of history and genealogy and took great pride in his heritage, particularly his relationship to Susanna (North) Martin (7th great-grandmother), one of fourteen women executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, Jabez Puffer (5th great-grandfather) of Sudbury, who served in the Colonial-American French and Indian Wars, Thomas Fowler (2nd great-grandfather) who guided Henry David Thoreau during their climb of Maine’s Mount Katahdin in 1846 (later recounted in Thoreau’s “The Maine Woods”) and particularly his paternal Grandfather Oscar Thomas, who served in the acclaimed 20th Maine Regiment under Col. Joshua Chamberlain at Gettysburg during the American Civil War.

Beloved and devoted father of Mark Thomas and his wife Karen of Hull, Peter Thomas and his wife Anita of Boylston, John Thomas and his wife Karen Dalton-Thomas of Wayland; cherished brother of Diane Edes and the late Albert Thomas of Lincoln, Maine and; loving grandfather of the late Lindsay Thomas, Layla Preston and her husband Robert of Middleborough, Matthew Thomas of Bali, Indonesia, Erica Thomas of Marlborough; proud great-grandfather of Ella and Alia Preston both of Middleborough, Arlo Thomas of Marlborough. Ed was predeceased by his wife Loretta Thomas in May 2019.

Due to Covid, no service is being planned at this time. A virtual remembrance will be held at a later date for friends and family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Ed’s memory to the Sudbury Community Food Pantry at: P.O. Box 751, Sudbury, MA 01776.

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