James Dale Thomas

Lieutenant Colonel James (J.D.) Dale Thomas (retired) was born July 2, 1931 in Arkansas City, Kansas to Edwin and Lora Thomas, a Santa Fe Railroad man and a former teacher, respectively. He was the youngest of eight children and definitely enjoyed a special relationship as his father's "Little Buddy" and his siblings' "Little Jimmy."

He enjoyed playing basketball in high school and held the record for most under-handed free throws made in a row. He also played tennis, eventually semi-professionally, and he loved playing golf. He joined the United States Air Force in his early twenties, becoming a pilot and then continuing to serve his country for 25 years.

In 1967 he met Marilyn Delores Schrad in Omaha, Nebraska and the two started dating. Three months later, they were married and spent 49 wonderful years together until her death in August of 2016. They added to their family while in Ankara, Turkey, then lived in several places before settling in Aurora, Colorado.

In their later years, they enjoyed traveling on cruises and continuing to watch lots of Colorado sports - especially the Broncos and the Rockies (both the formerly-named hockey team and the current baseball team.) J.D. became interested in genealogy after retirement from the Air Force and did much to extend knowledge of the branches of the family tree.

He is survived by his daughters, Lisa Lynn Lavelle and Julie Anne Thomas, and grandsons Thomas (TJ) James Lavelle and Aidan Murphy Lavelle.

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