Joseph Thomas

J. Nelson Thomas Obituary Joseph Nelson Thomas, age 93, a lifelong resident of Prince William County passed away on Friday, August 31, 2007 at the Caton Merchant House in Manassas. Mr. Thomas was born in 1914 at Glenmore Farm in Haymarket, the son of the late Tarleton B. and Katherine Bohrer Thomas. He attended school in Aldie before beginning work in 1934 for the U.S. Government on an experimental farm which was located near the present Washington Reagan National Airport. He and his wife, the former Leda Sowers, whom he married in 1937, moved to Manassas in 1938 and lived in the same house on Main Street until 2004. In 1971 he began work at Manassas Hardware and continued there until 2001. Mr. Thomas was predeceased by his wife of 44 years, seven brothers and three sisters. He is survived by his sons, Robert Nelson Thomas and wife Sandra of Manassas and David Hutchison Thomas and wife Stephanie of Emporia, Va. as well as three grandsons Jeffrey Nelson, David Joseph and Gregory Michael Thomas and his wife Leanne and great granddaughters Amanda and Ashley. He is also survived by two sisters, Mary T. Chandler of Manassas and Barbara T. Bell of Haymarket and numerous nieces and nephews. He was a member and Past Master of the Manassas Masonic Lodge #182, served on the City of Manassas Planning Commission, was a member of long standing with the Bull Run Hunt, and a charter member of the Evergreen Lions Club where he was honored as the Melvin Jones Fellow in 2004. Mr. Thomas was a "people person", loved to chat with everyone, was enthusiastic about horseback riding, racing and fox hunting and especially enjoyed woodworking. He was proud to know that from family records it was found that the Thomas family was in the Loudoun/Prince William County area as far back as 1760. The family will receive friends at Pierce Funeral Home, 9609 Center Street, Manassas on Tuesday, September 4,2007 from 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. Funeral services will be held at Grace United Methodist Church, 10201 Hendley Road, Manassas, Va. on Wednesday at 1:00 P.M. with Rev Rudolph Tucker and Rev. Meredith McNabb officiating. Interment Stonewall Memory Gardens. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Manassas Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 123, Manassas, Va 20108 or to Community Hospice of Virginia, 520 N. Washington Street, Suite 400, Falls Church, Va. 22046 Condolences can be sent to www.piercefh.com

Joseph Thomas

May 13, 1914 - August 31, 2007