Warren Milner Thomas Jr.

1920 - 2010

Warren Milner Thomas, Jr., loving father, friend to many and engineer died Monday, September 27, 2010, at Belmont Village in Houston, Texas. His passing followed several years of battle with dementia.
A native of Kansas, Warren was born in La Jolla, California, on September 2, 1920, to Warren Wilkinson and Laura Mae Thomas of Hartford, Kansas. Warren was raised in Hartford and graduated from Hartford High School in 1938. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas in 1942. While at the university, Warren was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity.
Warren moved to Bartlesville in 1942 to join the Phillips Petroleum Company as a mechanical engineer. While with Phillips, he had the opportunity to be closely involved with major projects influencing the global growth of the company. These projects included the first furnace-type carbon black plants, pilot plants, refinery and other process plants in the United States, the Ekofisk platform project in the North Sea and various cooperative international ventures. He served several years on the API pipeline standards committee and was a leader in the development of national standards and their use in process plants to help ensure safety, operability and economy. Warren was honored by being named a Fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He retired in 1985 from his position as Mechanical Engineering Branch Manager with Phillips after 43 years of continuous service.
Not long after his arrival in Bartlesville, Warren met Amy Lee Hill originally of Cherokee, Oklahoma. After a lively courtship, the two were married at the Methodist Church in Cherokee, Oklahoma, on April 8, 1944. They raised their family of three children and were always active in church and community affairs. Warren was a boy scout leader and was active in the College High band boosters. He was active member of the Lions Club, worked regularly at the annual Lions pancake breakfast and recently received his 50 year service award. One Lion activity Warren particularly liked was distributing toys to disadvantaged youth early Christmas morning. His church activities included teaching Sunday school, serving on various committees and serving as the General Chairman of the Building Expansion Committee in 1986. In his free time, Warren loved to hunt and fish and he was a regular golfer after his retirement. Warren also loved to travel, both as a part of his professional life and with his family. He was deeply devoted to his family and wanted to be with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as much as possible. Throughout his years courageously battling dementia in Bartlesville then Houston, Warren maintained his kind and polite behavior towards others as well as his love for his family and friends. Warren always kept a smile on his face and in Houston was known to all the staff as the "sweetest resident we have here!"
Survivors include two children, David W. Thomas of Houston, Texas, and Nancy R. Farmer of Bartlesville; two sisters, Emmy Lou McClean of Fort Worth, Texas, and Mary Ruth Payne of Salina, Kansas; seven grandchildren, Laura Thomas of Chevy Chase, Maryland, Sarah and Sean Hamel of Waltham, Massachusetts, Lance and Angel Knight and Luke and Amanda Thomas of Bartlesville, Troy Thomas of Stillwater, Oklahoma, Jamie and Travis White and Thomas and Christy Farmer of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; two great-grandchildren, Hunter Thomas and Mia Knight of Bartlesville; and several cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Warren and Laura Thomas, his wife Amy Thomas and his son Greg Thomas.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM, Friday, Oct. 1, 2010, at First United Methodist Church, 500 S. Johnstone, Bartlesville. Dr. Kevin Tully will be officiating. Interment will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery under the direction of Stumpff Funeral Home & Crematory. Mr. Thomas will lie in state at the Stumpff Funeral Home where friends may call for visitation. Family will receive visitors there from 6:00-8:00 PM on Thursday, September 30.
In lieu of flowers, those desiring may honor Warren M. Thomas through memorials at First United Methodist Church, PO Box 1136, Bartlesville, OK 74005; and at the Alzheimer's Association, 6465 S. Yale Ave., Suite 312, Tulsa, OK 74136-7804 or donate/memorial online at www.alz.org.