Nicknamed Joe (after the comics character Bazooka Joe) by his father, Eugene Bertram Thomas was born to Jessie Mae Campton Thomas and Clarence George Thomas on April 2, 1924. His parents and only sibling, older brother Jerold Campton Thomas (1921–1973), preceded him in death.

Joe learned to fly while still at Eureka High School, taking lessons from his uncle Lester Pierce (Pierce Flying Service) while working at Murray Field. In 1943 he joined the Army Air Corps, trained as a B24 bomber pilot, flew 35 missions, and was shot down on November 19, 1944 in Yugoslavia, where he hid out with his crew for 41 days before being rescued by the OSS. The story of the crew’s rescue along with multiple other air crews is told in the book The Forgotten Five Hundred.

After the war, Joe attended Humboldt State College, where he met his beautiful wife, Constance Virginia Ogle, playing ping pong. She beat him soundly, but as he said, “She was cute as hell.” They were married in 1949. At the end of his life he declared, “She was always right.”

He completed his degree in civil engineering at Stanford University on the G.I. bill and began his career as a highway engineer at the California Division of Highways. His engineering projects included spans of Highway 101 up and down Humboldt County.

Along the way three children were born, Laurel Ann Thomas, Dan Charles Thomas and Melinda Lee Thomas. A state-of-the-art ranch house was designed and built by Joe and Connie on Park Street in Eureka.

The family moved to Sacramento in 1969 when Joe was promoted to headquarters for the California Division of Highways, now CalTrans, eventually rising to Chief Maintenance Engineer for the entire state. Connie and Joe had a wonderful life of friends, children and grandchildren, travel, and endless projects.

Our father’s resilience throughout his life supported him through war, deaths of dear family members, the death of our mother, the devastating fire in his home, and finally, through the difficulties of failing health. One of his final statements was, “I’m still optimistic.” He was always supportive and understanding, interested in everything in the world, and eternally positive in his outlook. His long life exemplified the Greatest Generation: service, patriotism, strength of character, hard work, and not unlike Queen Elizabeth, a fondness for gin.

Eugene Thomas is survived by children Laurel (spouse Darrel Tidaback, children Eugene and Willow), Dan (spouse Lisa, children Alexandra, Charlotte, and Ian, great-grandchildren Theia & Selene) and Melinda (spouse Steven Schmalz, children Laurel and Austin), and nieces Susan (spouse Weldon Benzinger, children Mary, Tom, Mark, John, and Sarah), Jane (spouse Neil Zimmerman), and nephew Jim (Susan, daughter Amy).

Interment with Military Honors will take place at Sunset Memorial Park in Eureka on Tuesday, December 13, at 2 p.m.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Eugene Thomas’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.