Thomas, Ray D.

1919 - 2015  (96 years)

• Name	Thomas, Ray D.
  Birth	5 Jan 1919	Olney, Richland County, Illinois   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Reference Number	THOM.R012
  _FGRAVE	155154602
  Military Service	World War II, 2nd Lieutenant, United States Army
  		Flag of the United States, 48 Stars (1912-1959) In 1912, two stars were added to the United States flag, representing Arizona and New Mexico, bringing the total number of stars to 48. They were arranged in six rows of eight stars each. American fighting men would fight under this flag during four wars: World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the beginning of the Vietnam War. (In 1959, a…
  Death	18 Nov 2015	Tuscola, Douglas County, Illinois   [1, 2]
  Burial	Tuscola Township Cemetery, Tuscola, Douglas County, Illinois   [1]
  		Headstone, Thomas, Ray D.
  Person ID	I39246	Carl Wayne Gray Research
  Last Modified	30 Jan 2024

  
  

  Father	Thomas, William 'Perry',   b. 19 Feb 1883, Jasper County, Illinois d. 14 Nov 1963, Olney, Richland County, Illinois (Age 80 years)
  Mother	Scherer, Dessie O.,   b. 7 Jan 1889, Richland County, Illinois d. 26 May 1964, Olney, Richland County, Illinois (Age 75 years)
  Marriage	Y  [3]
  Family ID	F26	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Combs, Dora May,   b. 30 Dec 1917, Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois d. 8 May 2011, Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois (Age 93 years)
  Family ID	F15664	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	31 Jan 2023

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 5 Jan 1919 - Olney, Richland County, Illinois Death - 18 Nov 2015 - Tuscola, Douglas County, Illinois Burial - - Tuscola Township Cemetery, Tuscola, Douglas County, Illinois  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Ray D. Thomas, 96, of Tuscola died at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday (Nov. 18, 2015) at home. Ray was born on Jan. 5, 1919 outside of Olney, the son of William Perry Thomas and Dessie Otto Scherer. He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Dora M. Thomas; his daughter, Sandra K. Ladd; grandson, Michael L. Ladd; his parents; brothers, Oral and Max Thomas and sister, Bernadine Wagy. Surviving are his children, Ronald L. (Carol) Gillette, Karen E. Reed and Jill S. Thomas; 10 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren (with twins on the way). Ray served with the U.S. Army in World War II in both the European and Pacific theaters, attaining a field commission to second lieutenant. After the war, he relocated to Springfield to work in the office of the Secretary of State, where he met his wife Dora. He spent the remainder of his career with Addressograph Multigraph International, from which he retired to Tuscola. Published in the Champaign, Illinois News-Gazette. Nov 20, 2015

  
  

• Sources

  [S12673] http://www.findagrave.com, Headstone, Thomas, Ray D., (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155154602/Ray-D.-Thomas), none. (Reliability: 2). [S13320] http://www.findagrave.com, Obituary, Thomas, Oral "Shorty", 94, (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68523613/oral-thomas), none. (Reliability: 2). [S55] https://www.findagrave.com, Headstone, Thomas, Dessie and W. Perry, (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39204380/william-thomas), none. (Reliability: 2).