Clyde Ray Thomas

In his final hours on Earth, Clyde Ray Thomas Jr. thanked his son for getting him into bed and for taking care of him, he answered “the army” when asked what he was quietly thinking about. He was a gentleman, an American hero, and a jokester until the end when he was surrounded by family in the security of his own home.

Born August 18th, 1925 to Clyde and Lena Thomas of Ansonia, Ohio, Clyde grew up around railroads. He considered himself a “railroader” for his whole life and this past summer enjoyed watching the trains in Vermillion with his great-grandchildren.

He lied about his age and joined the United States Army when he was 17 the serve his country in World War II. He rose to Staff Sergeant and led his men in the Philippines and in Japan. He was awarded two Purple Hearts.

After the War, Clyde got a job as a salesman for the C.E. Ward Company in New London, Ohio. He worked diligently for the same company for 60 years and was consistently their top salesman.

Clyde met the love of his life and his “Sweet Boo Boo”, Maxine Purtee, on a blind date. They were married on June 11th, 1949 and Clyde continued to honor Maxine’s memory and the life they created after her death in February 2008.

Together, Clyde and Maxine enjoyed traveling to Cape Cod, collecting antiques, and going on countless family fishing trips. This fishing trip traditions continued up until this past June when Clyde got to enjoy another week in St. Germain, Wisconsin, fishing, eating and spending time with his family. Talk of “catching the big one” were regular conversation pieces year-around. On his last morning, he commented to his devoted daughter-in-law that it would be “a good day to go fishing”.

Clyde was a 70-year member of the Masonic Lodge. He enjoyed “silver Sneakers” classes at the Ashland YMCA and Friday Night Fish Frys at Buehler’s or Belly Buster’s. He enjoyed the friendships and smiles, and was always a charmer to all he met.

In addition to his parents, siblings, and wife, Clyde was preceded in death by his son, Clyde “Chip” Thomas III, or Denton, TX. He is survived by beloved son and daughter-in-law, Nick and Karen Thomas, of Homer Twp; adored grandchildren Bryan Thomas of Homer Twp, Juliet (Jonathan) Thomas-Burras of Ashland, and Nicholas (fiancée Kait) Thomas of Denton, Texas; and cherished great-grandchildren Payton, Gracelyn, Finnegan, August and 11-week-old Lela. A special thanks to special family friend, Dick Stoll, and his caregivers Deb, Stacey and Cathy. His guard cat, Tiger, was a friend to the end.

If you ever met Clyde you also knew his “Clyde-isms.” From John Wayne he was always telling you “That’ll be the day” and you always heard, “That’s a joke, Son” and knew he was up for anything when he said, “Ready for Freddy.” Lots of things in his life were “Bodacious,” but to this quiet American hero you knew you made a friend when he told you to “Keep your tail gate up”

Visitations will be Sunday January 29th, 2017 from 2-4 at Matteson Funeral Home in West Salem, with a service at 4 P.M. with Pastor Janet Chilcote officiating. Burial will be at Gettysburg Cemetery, Gettysburg, Ohio.  Online condolences can be posted on the Matteson Funeral Home website at www.mattesonfh.com.

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