Toliver Ratcliff Thomas

Toliver R. Thomas was born in Newport, Tennessee on March 29, 1947, and passed away in Lubbock, Texas on February 12, 2026. Toliver was known as Tom or Tommy by his huge family of uncles, aunts and cousins who were all very close. Toliver was a die-hard Tennessee Volunteers fan. He also enjoyed fishing, hunting, photography, traveling, gardening, cooking, baking, swimming, woodworking and telling stories. He had an amazing memory and zest for life.

Toliver graduated from Clinton High School in 1965 and attended Carson Newman in Jefferson City, Tennessee. He joined the U.S. Air Force in February 1969 and deployed to Panama where he specialized in Radio Electronics. Afterwards, he was stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, NM until he was honorably discharged in December of 1974. During his time in Portales, he attended Eastern New Mexico Univ. and graduated with two master's degrees.

Following his graduation from ENMU, Toliver became the Industrial Arts teacher at Hobbs High School and remained in that role for 18 years. During this time, he also taught Woodworking at NMJC for the Continuing Ed. Dept. In 1992, Toliver became the principal at Edison Elementary School where he met and hired Anita as his secretary. He enjoyed the students & working with the teachers until his retirement in 1998 and he moved to Pagosa Springs, Co.

About a year later, Toliver reached out to Anita and they renewed their friendship which ultimately led to his move back to Hobbs. They were united in marriage on May 28, 2000, at First Methodist Church. Shortly thereafter, he began a 20-year career as the Driver's Education instructor at New Mexico Junior College, a role he truly cherished.

During their 25½ years of marriage, their blended family- Toliver's two sons and Anita's three daughters-grew to include 14 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. They cherished traveling to Tennessee every other Christmas to spend time with Toliver's family, as well as visiting Anita's daughter and her family in North Carolina. Toliver especially treasured his trips to Johnson City, Tennessee, where he delighted in visiting his beloved Aunt Agnes. Together, Toliver and Anita also shared many memorable road trips to a variety of other destinations.

Toliver was preceded in death by his biological mother, Vevette Thomas; his father, Toliver Howard Thomas; his second mother, Marion Ponder Thomas; his brother, Dick; his nephew, Allen; and several aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Survivors include his loving wife Anita, sons Clay (Chantell) and Kurt (Jill), daughters Angela (Ronnie), Amanda (Jared), Alyssa and grandchildren Knox, Lucas, Louis, Taylor (Cody), Kaylee (Joe), Bradley, Joshua (Alexis), Makalah, Kaci, Brianna, Lily, Cienna, Laila, and Derek. Great grandchildren include Dean, Reagan, Rayleigh, Ella, and Jesiah. Also surviving Toliver are his brother David (Carolyn), sister-in-law Suzanne, Aunt Agnes, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Hershel, and many cousins.

The family would like to thank the VA and Del & Associates for all their support.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Toliver's honor to First Methodist Church Men's Group at 200 E. Snyder, Hobbs NM, or to the Wounded Warrior Project (on-line or at PO Box 758516, Topeka, KS.