John Bowman Thomas

John passed away peacefully in his daughter's home on September 13, 2018. John and his wife, Eleanor Graefe Thomas had joined the Santa Margarita community in 1990 for their retirement years. They lived on Las Pilitas Road for 28 years. John was born on July 14, 1925, in New Kensington, Penn. He was a graduate of Gettysburg College (B.A.), Johns Hopkins University (B.S.), and Stanford University (M.S. and Ph.D). He served in the United States Army from 1944-1946 during WWII. After leaving the Army, he became an electrical engineer, and later assistant chief engineer at Koppers Company, Inc. from 1946-1952. He then enrolled at Stanford University where he completed his graduate training in 1955. In 1955, he joined the electrical engineering faculty at Princeton University, first as an assistant professor and then as a tenured full professor. He taught at Princeton from 1955 until his retirement in 1990. John was the author of numerous technical books and articles. He was a devoted teacher, especially of his graduate students, many of whom went on to become professors at distinguished universities around the world. John and Eleanor were married on June 3, 1944. They were happily married for 67 years before she preceded him in death. They spent many wonderful years together in retirement at their home in Santa Margarita. John and Eleanor were inseparable in life and will be reunited together in the afterlife. They are survived by six children: four daughters and two sons; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. According to his wishes, no memorial service will be held. In lieu of flowers or donations, the family asks that you send emails containing any fond remembrances of John and Eleanor that you wish to share with their family. The email address for correspondence is Randall.Thomas@Vanderbilt.Edu