Dr. Alfred Thomas

As I finally attempt this entry in Al's honor, I am reminded of something he said to his students when I was one of them. Of course after more than twenty-five years, I am paraphrasing. The desire to write, he said, burns brightly until whatever it is you attempt to say, you realize someone else has already said it and said it better. I feel that way about Al's obituary and the other comments made about him on this site. I can only add that I came to know Al during an important...

Al,
I'm so sorry we never got the chance to have that cigar together. I will never forget you, and the way you have changed my life. My sister tells me they have a bench in your honor on the boardwalk in OC. I'm thinking when I find out where I'm going to sit there, and look out at the ocean, and finally have that cigar with you. You were a great man who I will NEVER forget. I love you, and your legacy will forever live on. You have touched so many peoples lives, and I can only hope to...

Our thoughts are with you.

I first met Dr. Thomas when I was enrolled in freshman English at Kutztown State College. What a guy!

I remember how he challenged, if not shook, many of our teen-age assumptions about the world, especially those of us who came from sheltered small towns to attend college. Dr. Thomas at the time had a big muscular build, but I remember when he entered the Kutztown college auditorium where the large freshman English class was held, he was like a rush of fresh air, and so knowledgeable...

Not many people touch my heart and grab my favor like Al did. He was the epitome of what I strive to be- smart, strong and positive. His attitude was ideal, and his energy was contagious.

I am going to miss him...

My cousin Al Thomas kept alive the memories of the little town of Newberry, in Williamsport, Pa all the days of his life, whenever he talked with me, or wrote me. I have no doubt that the characters he met growing up in Baltimore, Lockhaven and in Williamsport, Pa where he spent many happy days at the old oak table of Jesse and Kate Thomas, our grandparents - these wonderful relatives and neighbors of his childhood helped create Al Thomas the professor of English who has touched so many...

Z, I didn't spend a lot of time with Al, but the time spent was unforgettable. People have written such wonderful things about him. What I know for sure is he raised one heck of a daughter. Thinking of you and your family.With much love from ours.

Virtually a life-long friend, compassionate, understanding, with a love for his earthly brothers and sisters. I rejoice in his everlasting happiness, for his eyes have seen God.

I have never met anyone else even remotely like Al Thomas. As a professor, he was thrillingly brilliant and uncommonly dedicated: he typed his comments on students’ papers, and the comments were always amazingly thorough and incisive. As a friend, he was a deep-hearted, infinitely curious, touchingly generous man. There was a purity about him that I’ve never encountered in anybody else. I will miss him very much.