David Thomas

David Thomas, age 71, of Avon, and formerly of Lorain, passed away peacefully at the Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital on the morning of Wednesday, March 25, 2020. He was born in Lorain on September 24, 1948, and had been a resident of Avon for the past eight years.

Dave graduated from Lorain High School where he was a standout athlete and multi-year varsity letterman on the football, baseball, and track teams there. During his senior year, he was selected to the All-Buckeye Conference football team as a split-end. Following his graduation, he attended Lorain County Community College.

Dave began his working career at U.S. Steel Corporation’s Lorain-Cuyahoga Works. He later embarked on a journey that spanned more than a half-century with the Lorain Glass Company and its sister entity Lakeland Glass. He began there as a driver and quickly transitioned to roles as a glass cutter, glazier, and ultimately as a sales manager for the company.

Shortly after high school graduation, he became deeply involved with coaching CYO football at St. Mary Church winning successive championships in 1967 and 1968 coupled with two CYO basketball titles as coach of the team from St. Nicholas Byzantine Church; that team produced a combined two-year record of 34 wins and only seven losses.

From 1968 to 1981 Dave served as a league director for the Ohio Touch and Flag Football League. As a playercoach, his Adams Café team won 65 consecutive games and 11 championships which are both state records that still stand. In 1981 Dave was chosen to develop a city soccer program by the Lorain Parks and Recreation Department which lead to the development of the Lorain Soccer Association and the birth of the annual Lorain International Tournament. Those efforts resulted in Dave being presented with Lorain’s first and only Presidential Sports Award from President Jimmy Carter.

He was also instrumental in formulating the soccer program at Lorain Catholic High School; his teams won four sectional titles along with one appearance in the regional finals; Dave watched 19 of his players earn all Greater Cleveland honors with several moving on to compete at the collegiate level.

The remainder of his accomplishments and accolades are almost too numerous to chronicle. Those efforts were acknowledged, however, during his 1994 induction into the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame. Dave’s true legacy will remain in the mark that he left on the lives he touched in mentoring his student athletes to not only excel as champions on the athletic field, but also as champions, ambassadors, and gentlemen who excel in life.

Dave was a longtime parishioner of St. Mary Catholic Church; he enjoyed spending any available free time with his loving wife and family and loved being a spectator at his grandchildren’s athletic events. In addition, he was an avid golfer and looked forward to yearly trips to Hilton Head, South Carolina.

He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Karen (nee Walchko); son, Derek (Melissa) of Avon; daughter, Jennifer (Brian) Britt, also of Avon; and grandchildren, Sydney, Aubrey, Connor, and Owen. He also his sister-inleaves law, Patsy Maderitz of Avon; and nephews, T.J. and Michael Maderitz.

He was preceded in death by his parents, David and June (nee Jaynes) Thomas; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Michael and Mary (nee Mahilo) Walchko; and sister-in-law, Jan Walchko-Dominguez.

Funeral services will be conducted at a later date when the risks associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic subside.

Contributions in Dave’s memory are encouraged to either St. Mary Catholic Church, 309 7th Street, Lorain, OH 44052 or the American Cancer Society, 5555 Frantz Rd., Dublin, OH 43017.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Gluvna-Shimo-Hromada Funeral Chapel. To share your memories and condolences with Dave’s family, please visit www.gluvna.net.