THOMAS, William

William Kevin Thomas passed away peacefully at the age of 77 on January 21, 2023. In his last days, he was surrounded by his family who were his everything and reason for being including his two children, five grandchildren and his wife Carol. His was a life of fun, humor, adventure and above all, love. Kevin was born in Jackson Heights, New York to Angela and William Thomas. As a child, he relocated to Atlanta with his parents and brother, Kerry, where he lived for the rest of his life. He attended the Marist School and went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree followed by an MD from Emory University. In 1967, he met a beautiful girl, Carol, in the library. He asked her out for full a year, before he finally (and inexplicably) managed to convince her to date him. He later proposed by asking her to take ‘a little walk in June’. After clearing up her confusion, she agreed, and they set out on a life together lasting nearly 53 years. In their early years as a couple, he served two years in the Army where he became the Chief of Hospital Clinics before going on to have two children, Court and Keleigh. In 1974, he went into private practice as an Ophthalmologist in Atlanta establishing The Thomas Eye Group. In the early years, it was a family practice where his mother-in-law did his books and his children often played after school while their mother attended Medical School. He had encouraged her to go back to get her MD and took on many of the parenting duties including sports carpool, doing his daughter’s hair (not his greatest skill) and taking them school shopping. On one occasion he came home with far too many clothes including a boy’s yellow batman raincoat for Keleigh much to Carol’s dismay. Over the years, The Thomas Eye Group grew to 17 locations. He created a patient centered culture where he endeavored to make everyone feel cared for and loved, greeting each person every morning. He sent flowers to patients following operations, particularly to those who didn’t have families of their own. Kevin was an adventurer who, along with Carol, explored more than 160 countries and every continent. As a gift of a lifetime, they took each grandchild on a special trip. Last summer, he took his last big trip with his youngest grandsons to Africa for three weeks where he awed everyone with his resilience and stamina. Inspired by his early travels, he became an avid patron of organizations protecting animals, wildlife and open spaces. He loved Christmas more than Clark Griswold and delighted in decorating every inch of the family home inside and out. He won many awards in his time as a Doctor but perhaps the one he was most proud of was 1st place in the Z-93 Tacky Light Tour which he bragged about for years to follow. He endeavored to make Christmas magical every year not just for his family but also for countless children from underserved communities in Atlanta. Above all, he loved his family. He was incredibly proud of his children telling anyone who would listen about their accomplishments. As a grandfather with the wonder of a child, he was Pappy Baba and spent countless hours building Legos, puzzles, car tracks and more with his five grandsons. Kevin was preceded in death by his mother, Angela; and his father, William. He is survived by his wife, Carol, son Court Thomas (Kristin); daughter, Keleigh Thomas Morgan (Michael); his grandsons, Grady, Porter, Cooper, Cole and Clay, brother Kerry and his children Stephanie Patterson (Martin), their daughter Lilli, Lake Thomas (Anna Kate), their daughter Mary Claire, Ian Thomas (Brittany) and their children Cole and Charlotte. Kevin fought a long and valiant battle with his health narrowly escaping death on so many occasions that friends often referred to his nine lives. His family would like to express heartfelt gratitude to his team of all-star Doctors beginning many moons ago at the Mayo Clinic and most recently with Drs. Margaret Williamson, David Kandzari and Ken Braunstein who supported him in every way possible until the end. The family will be holding a private burial at Westview Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations made in Kevin Thomas’ honor at The Empty Stocking Fund or The World Wildlife Fund (WWF).