Paul Eugene Thomas

Paul Eugene Thomas passed away peacefully on August 27, 2026. He was born in Alton, Illinois, on December 26,1931, to Robert and Cassie Thomas.

Paul enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1951 and achieved the rank of Master Sergeant. He specialized in communications, serving in Korera, Germany, Vietnam, Thailand, and Hawaii, and saw service in both the Korean and Vietnam wars, including ten and a half months as Station Commander in Thailand. In all, he served 20 years on active duty and 10 years in the reserves. The week before he left for Korea, he met Pauline Schueler who would become the love of his life. After returning from Korea, he attended Washington University in St. Louis and worked for McDonnell Aeronautics, designing aircraft.

In 1960 he rejoined the Army, serving around the world, and retired after 30 years of combined service. Settling in Colorado Springs, Paul worked for Phillip Morris as a quality manager, served on the Colorado Quality Council under the governor, and was rated a Senior Member of the American Society for Quality. After retirement, he served as a Certified Flight Instructor for three years and as Assistant Chief Flight Instructor for the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Initial Flight Training Program for cadets. His hobbies included flying, with 4,904.9 logged hours, along with photography, golf, pistol and rifle matches, scuba diving, sailing, motorcycling, and lifelong learning in subjects such as quantum mechanics and archaeology.