JOHN THOMA
10/17/1944 - 01/22/2023
John Michael Thoma passed away January 22,2023 in Burlingame, California surrounded by his loving wife, family and friends. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Jean Shanahan and Dr. George Thoma, he received a Catholic education, graduating from Kirwin High School, Galveston Texas with letters in Band and Tennis in 1962, University of Houston,
B.A. Political Science 1966, University of Houston, Jurisprudence Doctorate Law 1969, Command and General Staff College, U. S. Army 1979 (Outstanding Student) Air War College, U.S. Air Force 1988 (Honor Graduate) and finally Fellow, College of the State Bar of Texas, in 1998.
Upon passing the Texas State Bar in 1969, John began his dual legal and military career with active duty U. S. Army from 1969 -1971 as Signal Corps Group Legal Officer with service in the Republic of VietNam 1970-1971. After his honorable discharge,
John moved with his wife Jennell and daughter Dawn to Galveston where he began his legal career at the District Attorney’s Office in 1971. His career included many years in the D.A.’s Office, three terms as trial judge, private practice with George Casen Law Firm, Tramonte + Tramonte Law Firm, legal practice with partner David Cook and finally as a sole practitioner until he retired from private practice in 2014.
Concurrently, John served active duty as Commander of the Army National Guard,49th Armored Division 1971-1979, active duty with the U.S. Army Reserve, 75th Maneuver Area Command, 5th U.S.Army 1979-1986 testing preparedness of military field hospitals (MASH) for which he attained his paramedic certification to better perform his duties.
After 30 years military service, John retired as Colonel, United States Army Reserve, Medical Service Corps. He was a Colonel in the Legion of Frontiersman where he served as Provost Marshall. He also was made an Admiral in the Texas Navy, an honorary title granted by the Texas Governor at the request of the Texas Navy to acknowledge his long military service in the State of Texas.
Included in his many military awards are the Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal, Texas Faithful Service Medal, the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm, and Gold Medal of Honor Legion of Frontiersman.He was a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus, the Galveston Historical Foundation, the NAACP,
The Military Order of the World Wars, and an active member of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem and The American Commandery of Saint Michael of the Wing. He had the pleasure of serving as a Knight of Rizal along
with his grandsons Austin and Mitchell Almanza. Most recently, he was a member of the Trinity-Neches Forest Landowners Association.
John was a family man who told his daughters Dawn and Eve bedtime stories that he made up out of thin air or about his favorite Hobbits, a tradition he continued with his grandsons. Both wearing matching orange helmets, he drove Dawn to Our Lady of Guadalupe Elementary School on his orange Honda motorcycle.
An award winning marksman, John trained his daughters to be safe, accurate shooters as youngsters. He and daughter Eve studied for and received their Master Scuba Divers certification together. John taught his girls to snow ski and took them skiing in Bogus Basin, Idaho and Whistler Mountain, British Columbia.
Loving travel and adventures, John flew prop planes solo over the Texas Gulf Coast, piloted his own shrimp boat in the Gulf of Mexico and drove across the United States and country of Mexico coast to coast and border to border many times. He and Jennell drove to Vera Cruz as representatives of Galveston in the Sister Cities festivities and later, representing The Order of St. Lazarus drove to leprosy clinics in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico and Irapuato, Guanajuato , Mexico to deliver medical supplies and equipment that John collected in their garage year round. In later years, John and his grandson Mitchell accompanied Bayou Vista Faith
Community Church to deliver goods and do repairs at the Casa Bethesda Orphanage for the Physically Handicapped in Piedras Negras, Mexico.
John supported local community activities serving in the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Galveston County Rodeo Association and the Satori School Barbecue Committee. Interested in the revitalization of downtown Galveston, he and partner Joe Clark established 21 Post Office Bar & Grill near the Grand 1894 Opera House. 21 Post Office became a hot spot for patrons of the opera and theater and marked the beginning of a resurgence of new businesses and eateries in the area.
When John retired from private practice in 2014 at age 70, he moved to his farm in Centerville and with the help of his friend Ralph Bartkowiak built a house for Jennell. From clearing trees and digging up roots, to putting on the roof and everything in between, the two men worked 2 years with time out for John’s prostate cancer surgery to complete the house where Jennell and he celebrated Christmas 2016.
The next 3 years John and Jennell earned many air miles traveling to Portugal, England, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France (where he and his wife walked the red carpet at Canne Film Festival and celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the D Day Invasion in Normandy), Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the
Czech Republic, Hungary,
Russia and Turkey as well as traveling Stateside and in Canada, visiting friends around the world.
In 2019, John was diagnosed with cancer and he and Jennell moved to live with their daughter Eve and her husband Shiva. He was treated at the Palo Alto V. A. Hospital where he received treatment from an oncology team headed by Dr. Albert Lin whose expertise and dedication John credited for adding years to his life. John was valiant and positive throughout his treatment, kept working to build fences on the farm and stayed active with his charitable and religious organizations as well as continuing to travel with family and friends.
During his last 3+ years of life he was an avid spokesperson to his friends and community warning all who ever suffered with acid reflux to never self treat but to seek medical treatment with yearly exams and to be vigilant about taking medication. He wanted to save everyone from repeating his mistake.
John lived the last 6 months of his life in New York City. After many surgeries and a lengthy stay at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital he was discharged and returned home to California to say his last goodbyes to his family and friends. John was blessed with the Catholic Sacrament of the Last Rites on Saturday and passed from his earthly life Sunday morning.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated 10 am October 17 at Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church, 3600 Brinkman Street, Houston, Texas.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to:
The Wounded Warriors Project 4899 Belfort Road, Suite 300 Jacksonville, Florida 32256
Paralyzed Veterans of America 1875 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100 Washington, D C 20006