Luke J. Thaman
(1924 - 2007)


Longtime local businessman Luke J. Thaman, 83, of Bryan,Ohio died Wednesday evening, Dec. 12, 2007, at Fountain Park Inn and Villas in Bryan, where he was a resident. Born Jan. 20, 1924, at Fort Loramie, to Cecelia (Brandewie) and Henry Thaman, he married Mary Smith on Nov. 11, 1951, in Decatur, Ind., and she survives.
Mr. Thaman was active throughout the Williams County community in many charitable endeavors as well as in his business ventures.
He had graduated from Sidney High School and joined the United States Army and was assigned to the Army Air Corps, where he rose to the rank of staff sergeant.
Serving in the European Theater during World War II, Mr. Thaman flew numerous missions with the 647th Bomb Squadron and was awarded four Bronze Stars and the Air Medal with nine Oak Leaf Clusters for his service.
After his service in the military, he graduated from Purdue University in 1949 with a degree in agricultural economics.
Moving to Bryan in 1954, he leased the Bryan elevator and then built the Thaman and Fox Elevator with Harmon Fox, with Mr. Thaman as the managing partner.
In 1964, he joined Williams County Broadcasting and Bryan's first radio station as its general manager. He founded the annual Blizzard Auction that originated from the Blizzard of 1978, and it has raised in excess of $500,000 for local charities and service groups.
In 1979, Mr. Thaman was instrumental in pursuing a new government program that made the station the first solar-powered radio station in the country. He spent the last several years working with The Bryan Times in specialty ad sales.
He was an active member of St. Patrick Catholic Church and a member of the Knights of Columbus and Bryan Veterans of Foreign War Post No. 2489.
He served as a two-term member of the Bryan City Board of Education and the Four County Joint Vocational School Board and served as president of both bodies during his terms.
A member and past president of the Bryan Rotary Club, he was a Paul Harris Fellow recipient.
He served as a board member, longtime volunteer and past president of the Bryan United Way and as a volunteer with the Williams County United Way, as a member of the Junior Achievement Board, and as chair of the Bryan Day in the Park celebration and raised thousands of dollars for the annual fireworks display.
Mr. Thaman also was a charter member of both the Williams County Fair Foundation and the 4-H Endowment Committee. He was the recipient of the Bryan Area Foundation Good Citizen Award in 1991, which he shared with his wife, and was the first inductee into the Williams County Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2000.
In addition, he received the Goodyear Award in support of soil and water conservation locally in 2000, and in 2001 received the statewide individual Recycle Award. He also received Ohio's Outstanding Older Worker Award in 2001.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Mary Ann Thaman of Naperville, Ill., Thomas (and wife, Kelly) Thaman of Indianapolis, Ind., and Mary Beth Thaman of Kettering; six grandchildren, Alex, Eric and Chloe Thaman and Gabriel, Noah and Hannah Thaman; a great-granddaughter, Maya Thaman; a sister, Sylvia (and husband, Robert) Lehmkuhl of Anna; and two brothers, Jim (Barbara) Thaman of Anchorage, Alaska, and Tom (Carol) Thaman of Joplin, Mo.
He was preceded in death by a son, Christopher Thaman, and his twin sister, Germaine Poeppelman. Visitation will be Monday from 8-10 a.m. in St. Patrick Catholic Church.
Services will be Monday at 10 a.m. in the church with Father Charles Ritter to officiate. Interment will follow in Shiffler Cemetery near Bryan with graveside military rites conducted by Bryan Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 2489.
Memorials may be made to the Bryan Area Foundation - Luke Thaman Fund, St. Patrick Catholic Church Endowment Fund or Community Hospitals and Wellness Centers - Home Health and Hospice Care.
Krill Funeral Service : Edgerton, Ohio (OH)