Arl Madison "Tommy" Thomas; Communication Platoon 397th Regiment, 100th Infantry Division

Arl Madison "Tommy" Thomas, 96, died peacefully in Jacksonville, Florida on Tuesday, June 11, 2019 with his family by his side. He was born in 1923 in Worthington Springs, Florida, to Arthur Madison Thomas and Amy Nelson Thomas. He grew up there and near the banks of the Suwannee River in Hamilton County. He and his sister Marie enjoyed forming toy figures of clay as they played along the riverbank. As he grew used to sharecropping, he learned to take advantage of every opportunity.

Fascinated with radio communications, he enlisted in the Army Signal Corps Reserve in 1942 and took courses in Tallahassee, then Daytona Beach, Chicago, and Philadelphia where he met his future wife, Mathilda Elizabeth "Betty" Brehme.



Tommy was attending Georgia Tech when he was assigned to the 100th Infantry Division. He entered the U.S. Army at Camp Blanding in Sept. of 1943 and served in the European Theatre in France and Germany during World War II in the Communication Platoon of the 397th Regiment, 100th Infantry Division. He found his assignment as radio operator tame, so volunteered to install and repair radios and communication lines when knocked out by enemy action. He was known as "Gator" among his Army buddies because of his Florida roots. In 1945 his regiment joined in liberating the Citadel of Bitche, France from the Germans. The fortress had never before been penetrated since its construction in the 16th century. This earned them the moniker of "Sons of Bitche". Tommy received a Bronze Star among other medals.

After returning from the war, he married Betty Brehme in Philadelphia in June 1947. After more electronics study in Chicago, they settled in Jacksonville. Tommy got a job building a radio station from the ground up. At the same time, he studied HVAC, refrigeration, and swimming pool maintenance at Jones College. If he didn't know about it, he wanted to take a course on the subject. His professional reputation became well-known as he built and managed moves of radio transmitters, and performed troubleshooting for several area radio stations. Tommy was Chief Radio Engineer for WOBS radio and worked with friends and engineers in technical capacities on various projects in Jacksonville, Tampa, and Tallahassee, Florida; Douglas, Georgia; Montgomery, Alabama; and St. Louis, Missouri. Tommy opened up a TV repair business with Betty's help in managing his accounts. He took on other shops' tough TV repairs and some industrial electronics repairs. Tommy was the first president of the JETS (Jacksonville Electronics Technicians Society).
In the 1950s Tommy and Betty were graced with two girls, Karen and two years later, Shelley. Later twin boys Mark and Glenn came along. He took them all down to the sand dunes at Regency Square Mall's location to run the family car up and down the hills of sand. He enjoyed taking the twins to work with him and trying to sell them both for a quarter. There were no takers.
As time passed Tommy decided to move away from radio and into digital electronics. He joined ShowBiz Pizza Place and quickly moved up the corporate ranks. He enjoyed the digital age of arcade games, coin-operated rides, and animatronic entertainment shows. He repaired electronics, then moved into training and management. Over the years, he travelled to Europe many times for pleasure.
In 2007, with hearts full of love and trust, Tommy and Gayle Cooper married and shared a good life.
Tommy preferred his grandchildren and great grandchildren call him "Big Daddy" and they all loved
that name. He used every bit of his mind and body to live a full life to benefit himself and everyone around him. He is loved much, will be sorely missed, and always remembered.
Mr. Thomas was preceded in death by his parents; former wife and mother of their children, Mathilda Elizabeth "Betty" Brehme Thomas; former wife, Margaret Hudson Thomas; his daughter, Shelley Ann Thomas; his brothers, Jesse Reamer Thomas and Vernes Arthur Thomas; his sisters, Leila Marie McCaughey and Maxie Jane Thomas. He is survived by his wife, Gayle C. Thomas; his children, Karen Thomas (Timothy Whelan) of Macclenny; Mark Thomas (Karen Ketner) of Tampa, and Glenn (Barbara) Thomas of Albuquerque, New Mexico; step-children, Russell Snyder of Jacksonville and Lisa McGraw of Atlanta, Georgia; five grandchildren, Christopher (Angela) Campbell of Jacksonville; Matthew Campbell of Gainesville; Sean (Mary) Thomas of Catonville, Maryland; Althea Thomas of Matthews, North Carolina; and Evelyn (Aaron) Salts of Glen St. Mary; seven great-grandchildren, Kyle Campbell, Kennedy Campbell, Braedon Fulton, Alexa Salts, Landon Salts, Reid Thomas, and Seaver Thomas; and one great-great grandchild, Carter Campbell. Arrangements were by A Dignified Alternative – Hatcher Cremation. A celebration of Mr. Thomas' life will be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to the Union County Historical Society/410 West Main St., Suite C/Lake Butler, FL 32054, or a charity of your choice.
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Published in the Florida Times-Union from July 17 to July 18, 2019