Walter Frederic Thomas Jr.

Walter Frederic Thomas Jr.
Woolwich ME, formerly of Lowell and Chelmsford MA; 84
WOOLWICH, ME Walter Frederic "Fred" Thomas Jr., a resident of Woolwich, ME, passed away peacefully on September 24, 2009 at the Mid Coast Senior Health Center in Brunswick, ME. He was born on January 6, 1925 in Meriden, CT to the late Walter F and Margaret Beebe Thomas of Melrose and Lowell, MA.
Fred was a 1943 graduate of Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH and a 1951 graduate of Bowdoin College where in his senior year he was house president of Alpha Tau Omega.
Fred saw active service with the US Army during WWII with the 4th Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment serving in New Guinea, the Philippines and in Japan. He was awarded two battle stars and a bronze arrowhead; his unit was awarded a Navy Commendation for action off Northern Luzon.
In 1956 Fred joined the Robert R. Wilson insurance agency in Melrose and Chelmsford MA, as treasurer and general manager, later becoming an owner. He stayed with the agency until his retirement in 1990. Prior to his retirement, Fred and his wife Winnie lived in Chelmsford for 32 years where they raised their four children. He was a charter member of the Chelmsford Rotary Club where he served as secretary for seven years and was awarded the Paul Harris Fellow. Fred was also a member of the Fidelity Masonic Lodge of Melrose, MA, Rose Croix Valley of Lowell, and Consistory in Boston. He was a member of All Saints Church in Chelmsford.
Fred along with his family vacationed on Malden Island which is located off the coast of Maine. Here he learned the ways of the water; swimming, sailing, rowing and then teaching these skills to his children and grandchildren to keep the tradition alive.
After his retirement in 1990 Fred and his wife Winnie moved to Woolwich, Maine where he became a volunteer at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. Fred enjoyed sailing and boating with family and friends and thoroughly enjoyed working around his farmhouse and traveling with his wife Winnie.
Fred is survived by his wife of 57 years, Winifred "Winnie" from Cazenovia NY, a son William Thomas and his wife Janine of Interlaken NY and their children Laura and Robert, daughter Kimberly Parsons and husband Donald of Derry NH, and their children Donald and Andrew, daughter Nancy Thomas of Hopkinton NH, and her dog Nike, daughter Barbara Apse and husband Robert of Reading, and their children Kathryn and Robert.
Fred is survived by a brother Theodore Thomas and wife Virginia of Manchester NH, and sisters Marcia Walker of Brunswick, ME and Linda Thomas of Guilford, CT.
THOMAS All services will be private. Memorial contributions may be made in his memory to: Mid Coast Senior Health Services, Development Office, PO Box 279, Brunswick, ME 04011