Farmer, World War II Veteran, husband, father, air-traffic controller, hobbyist gardener; these are just some of the titles a Gilmer local has held over the course of more than a century. Now, Jack Thomas is turning 102.
His daughter, Patti Thomas, took a trip down memory lane to piece together stories from his life before and after she became a part of it, ahead of his birthday celebration.
Born June 2, 1923, Jack was one of 12 siblings growing up on the family farm in the north Georgia mountains. When he thinks of his childhood in Gilmer, getting his education, his uncle’s general store, being in nature and learning how to work hard on the farm comes to mind.
“Whenever he would come up to Georgia, he’d really like to return to the mountains and walk in the woods,” Patti said.
After graduating high school, he helped build the Fontana Dam in Tennessee and was awarded a full-ride scholarship, which she added was a huge deal at the time, to the University of Georgia.
He was enrolled there for a few months but by then, the world was engulfed in war. Jack, as well as his four brothers, enlisted in World War II.
He served as a submarine radio operator in the Navy, stationed in New London, Conn. Aboard his submarine in the South Pacific, he handled incoming Morse code messages.
One day, while waiting for the USS Carp submarine to be built, Jack headed into Hartford to catch a movie at the theater. It was dark when Margaret, the love of his life, first sat next to him in the only empty seat.
“When the lights went on during intermission, he said there was this beautiful woman sitting next to him,” Patti shared.“He offered her a stick of gum, and that’s how they met.”
Jack and Margaret married in 1942. Together, they have three children, Patti, Don and Ken, as well as four grandchildren. Margaret passed three years ago at the age of 99, after eight decades of being happily married.
When the war ended, Jack started working for the federal government as an air-traffic controller. His career moved his family to Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maine and Maryland.
After retiring in his 50s, Jack and Margaret split their time in between Key West, Fla. and Virginia Beach, Va. Days were spent square dancing, traveling, deer hunting, building or fixing things, walking, biking and gardening.
“He has a really green thumb, so we had the biggest tomatoes and the tallest okra,” Patti recalled. Tears filled her eyes as she sentimentally remembered her childhood, with her dad always digging in the garden, planting tons of vegetables to eat or can.
Jack’s love for radios extended past his time in the Navy, where Patti noted he could often be found sitting in front of a ham radio in every home they lived in, talking to people from all over the world.
“Turning 102, he said he feels good for an old guy,” Patti quoted. He now lives full time in Springhill, Fla., where family members that still live in Gilmer, and others scattered along the East Coast, are driving to celebrate this monumental birthday by his side.
From the Times-Courier, family, friends and lives touched along the way, Happy Birthday Jack!