James Pope Thomas

James Pope Thomas, age 95, was born on April 19, 1930 and passed away on Saturday, January 17, 2026 at his home in Lexington. Pope was a member of the First United Methodist Church, serving in numerous roles within the church. He was a longtime Lay Leader, taught various Sunday School classes, and sang in the choir. He owned and operated Thomas Furniture for many years and was a factory representative for Franklin Chair Company. He graduated from Columbia Military Academy and then earned his degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville where he was a member of the SAE Fraternity. He was also a veteran of the United States Army. He is survived by a daughter, Laura Maupin,

; 2 sons, Jim (Brooks) Thomas and Rob (Lisa) Thomas; 8 grandchildren, Michael Bohan, Jonathan Thomas, Taylor (Katy) Thomas, Kate (Eric) Hudspeth, Amelia (Nick) Louwers, Leigh (Sam) Lewis, Wes Maupin, and Matt Maupin; 9 great-grandchildren, Ida Woodrow, Walker Woodrow, Linden Thomas, Nora Thomas, Owen Hudspeth, Summer Louwers, Isla Hudspeth, Charlotte Lewis and Mattie Lewis. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jan Thomas; his parents, James Claude and Betsy Beulah Pope Thomas, and a sister, Martha Hay. Funeral services will be on Saturday, January 24 at 11AM at the First United Methodist Church with burial to follow in the Lexington Cemetery. Visitation will be at Reed's Chapel on Friday from 5PM-8PM and at the First United Methodist Church on Saturday from 9AM until service. The family requests in lieu of flowers that memorials be made to the Pope and Jan Thomas Alumni Tri-Star Scholarship Endowment at giving.utk.edu/pope.