CDR William "Bill" Thomas
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CDR William "Bill" Thomas, 94, of Petal passed away on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at his home surrounded by family. Funeral services were held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, 2022 at Carterville Baptist Church with interment at Forrest Memorial Gardens.
CDR Thomas was born on April 2, 1928 in Plains, GA to the late William and Allie Thomas. He grew up and attended school in Plains. At the age of 17, he joined the United States Navy where he proudly served until his retirement as a Commander in 1976. Throughout his career he received numerous medals, including the Korean Service Medal, American Campaign Service Medal, Victory Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and the Expert Pistol Medal. He was additionally awarded various Unit Citation Ribbons. He served as Communications Officer aboard Air Force One where he ran the National Airborne Emergency Action Center for President Nixon. He surpassed 8,000 career flight hours. Throughout his many years, he had many business ventures. He settled in Petal, MS and was the founder of Thomas Tax & Financial Services. It continues to be a family run business today. He was a member of Carterville Baptist Church.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Sherry Schooley; his parents; two sisters, Mary Willcox and Anne Floyd; and three brothers, John Thomas, Walter Thomas, and Bill Thomas.
He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Sally Thomas of Petal; his children, Bill "B.T." Thomas of Valrico, FL, Larry W. Thomas (Elaine) of Groton, CT, Tricia Wiggs Thomas of Petal, Jason Thomas (Emily) of Madison, Kimberley Hall (James) of Petal, Drue Thomas (Tessa) of Petal, and Walter Thomas of Petal; his grandchildren, Mike Timblin (Melissa), Jen Key (Chris), Laura Welch (Trey), Kristin Nicole Wiggs, Kylee Thomas, Brent Thomas, Kaleb Hall, Meagan Hall, Hannah Hall, Shelby Thomas, Allie Thomas, Jack Thomas, and Neely Thomas; his great grandchildren, Shae Timblin, Dylan Nichols, Ellie Timblin, Hayden Nichols, Finnah Timblin, Kylie Hopkins, Weston Key, J.T. Welch, and Elijah Welch; and numerous nieces and nephews.
In the 1960's, he became best friends with LCDR James "Jim" Overstreet from Brooklyn, MS. They made a pact to one another, that if anything ever happened to one of them, they would take care of the other's family. The untimely death of LCDR Overstreet occurred and Bill kept to his promise. He assisted Mrs. Ruth Overstreet and helped her raise four more "sons", Ken, Keith (deceased), Howard Van (deceased), and Joe Val.