Wayne Henry Thomas Sr.

Wayne Henry Thomas Sr., 82, a resident of Salem, Va., passed away on Saturday, November 7, 2009. He was preceded in death by two sons, Randall Preston Thomas and Stephen Kenneth Thomas; and five siblings, Herman Thomas, Lerty Thomas, Ora Thomas Garrett, Ray Thomas, and Mary Opal Thomas. He is survived by his loving wife of 19 years, Dorothy Thomas; three sons, Wayne Henry Thomas II and wife, Terrie, of Pensacola, Fla., Christopher Ray Thomas, of Salem, Va., and Samuel Lee Thomas and wife, Toni, of Yulee, Fla.; five siblings, Ruth Hodges, Ruby Jobe, Lura Vest, Jean Moore, and Charlotte Lichtenstein; five grandchildren, Carmen Ferguson, Liza Porter, Hunter Thomas, Sarah Thomas, and Sabrina Thomas; seven greatgrandchildren; 18 nieces and nephews; 16 great-nieces and nephews; and four greatgreat-nieces and nephews. He was born on April 10, 1927, in Salem, Va., the youngest son of Henry Jordan Thomas and Effie Lee Smith Thomas. He was baptized in Second Methodist Church of Salem. After graduating Spencer School of Watchmaking in Salisbury, N.C., and later graduating jewelers school in Little Rock, Ark. Mr. Thomas was a prominent jeweler and watchmaker in Salem and the Roanoke Valley for more than 50 years before his retirement from Thomas Jewelers in 1997. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11, 2009, at the chapel of John M. Oakey and Son, Salem with the Rev. Bill Atkins officiating. Interment will follow at Sherwood Memorial Park.