Dr. Charles F. "Red" Thomas

Dr. Charles F. Thomas, known to friends, former students and ball players as “Coach” or “Red”, died on January 22, 2012, at home in Natchitoches after a long battle with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Betty French Thomas, and his sisters, Josie Cullins and Doris Stephens. Dr. Thomas lived a very full and active life as educator, coach and athlete but, most especially, as a loving husband and parent. He was 93 years old at the time of his death. Thomas is survived by his wife of 68 years, the former Sadie Grezaffi of Batchelor, La; his sister Patty Sue Moore of Hope, Arkansas; nine children, Chuck Thomas and Pat, Elizabeth Walsh and Dan, Tina Stroud and Gilbert, Luke Thomas and Beth, Tim Thomas and Vicky, Mary Pracchia and John, Doris Stockwell and C.L., Nancy Teegardin and Joe, and Mike Thomas and Tammy; twenty-three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren as well as a very close and special person, Patsy A. Thomas. Thomas grew up in Texarkana, Arkansas, where he was a talented student-athlete. Subsequently, beginning in 1940, Thomas was a student, coach, professor and administrator at Northwestern State University. While a student, Thomas was on the track and field team but excelled as a standout basketball player and was the school’s first basketball All-American. He was selected to the Helms Hall of Fame in basketball in 1957 and was named to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1968. After graduation Thomas served in the United States Navy from 1941-1945, and returned to Louisiana after World War II. He coached basketball and football at Bastrop High School from 1945 to 1950 and became an assistant professor and head basketball coach at Northwestern in 1950. He led the Demons to two conference championships in seven years and never experienced a losing season. Thomas left coaching to complete his doctorate in education at George Peabody College for Teachers (now the Vanderbilt University Peabody College of Education and Human Development) and entered the classroom fulltime in 1957 as an associate professor. From 1961-62 Dr. Thomas served as the state supervisor for health and physical education in the Louisiana State Department of Education before returning to NSU in 1963 as a full professor. He became the head of the Department of HPE&R in 1964, the Dean of Administration in 1966 and the Dean of the College in 1967. In 1968 he assumed the position of Vice President of Academic Affairs, a position he held until his retirement from NSU in 1978. After retiring from Northwestern, Thomas held teaching positions at the University of North Texas and Tulane University. He was named to the NSU Hall of Distinction, the Long Purple Line, in 1993 and the Hall of Distinguished Educators by the NSU College of Education in 2007. “Coach” Thomas remained active and sought adventure throughout his life, including his retirement. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for the Exchange Bank in Natchitoches, he also served as a scout for the New York Knickerbockers from 1958 -1977. He was an accomplished badminton player as evidenced by the many titles he earned both at the state and national levels. Red Thomas remained a sports enthusiast and athlete even after his retirement from competition becoming an avid runner and occasional tandem-bike rider with his wife Sadie. Thomas loved to travel and had an almost insatiable curiosity about people and places. He thought nothing of driving to see Mt. Saint Helens volcano erupt in 1980, driving to Minnesota each summer to check on his property or traveling to visit his children whether they were in Hawaii, California, Maryland, Florida, Turkey or any of a number of points in between. However, the trips that all of his grandchildren remember most were their frequent trips with him to visit Chaplin’s Lake to feed the ducks. The family would like to thank long time family friends and neighbors Paul and Lydia Keyser for their many kindnesses and his caregivers who were with him through the final weeks, Clementine Mitchell, Linda Williams and Joan Carmouche, with very special thanks to Connie Wafer and Nettie Adams. Friends are invited to a visitation with the family on Tuesday, the 24th of January 2012, beginning at 12 noon until 1:30 P.M. at Blanchard- St. Denis Funeral Home in Natchitoches, La. Recitation of the holy rosary will begin at 1:30 P.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, the 24th of January 2012, at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Natchitoches, LA. at 2:30 P.M. under the direction of Father Irion St. Romaine. Burial will follow the service in the Catholic Cemetery in Natchitoches, La. The Thomas family requests in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Charles F. and Sadie G. Thomas Scholarship fund through the NSU Foundation, Alumni Center, Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA 71457 or a charity of your choice.