Walter Thomas

Dr. Walter Joe Thomas, 77, died Monday, July 30, 2012, at his home in Mineral Wells, after a long illness. Visitation is scheduled Friday evening from 7:00-9:00 pm at Baum-Carlock Bumgardner Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be held 11:00 am, Saturday, August 3 at First Christian Church; burial will follow at Woodland Park Cemetery. Dr. Walter Joe Thomas was born in Hearne, Texas to Walter Deckard Thomas and Sue Harlan Thomas. The family moved to Mineral Wells in 1941 where his father was a pharmacist. Walter Joe graduated from Mineral Wells High School in 1953. The Dallas Morning News awarded him, in 1951 and 1952, for his All District football letters and his three year All District Basketball awards in 1950, 1951, and 1952. Walter attended Boys State in 1951 and was President of the Student Body and class favorite for two consecutive years. Upon graduation, he attended Texas A&M where he played basketball for one year. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Texas A&M in 1957. Walter graduated from The University of Texas Dental School in 1961. He married the love of his life, Mary Jo Smith, in 1960. He entered the United States Navy Dental Corp in 1961 and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. He and Mary Jo returned to Mineral Wells in 1963 where he practiced dentistry for 50 years before his health forced him into retirement. Walter was a 32nd Degree Mason, Shriners and Scottish Rite. He was President of the Mineral Wells Chamber of Commerce 1969-1970 and also President of the Noon Lions Club during the same period. His accomplishments in Dentistry include: A Fellow in the International College of Dentistry, Pierre Fauchard Academy, Academy of General Dentistry, member of the American Dental Association, Fort Worth Dental Society, Texas Dental Association and was awarded his practice of Dentistry for 50 years in 2011. Walter was a member of the First Christian Church where he had served as Chairman of the Board and as an Elder. He was named Outstanding Young Man of the Year by the Junior Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Palo Pinto Sheriff's Posse and served as a Director of the North Texas High School Rodeo Assn. Along with Jake Varnell, he chaired the Miss Possum Kingdom Beauty Pageant for several years and sent contestants to compete in the Miss Texas Pageant. The Mineral Wells High School Mountaineer Football team, on which Dr. Thomas played, was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. Dr. Thomas was inducted into the Mineral Wells High School Hall of Honor in 2010. Dr. Thomas is survived by his wife of 52 years, Mary Jo Thomas; son and daughter, Walter Jo Thomas, Jr. and Mary Elizabeth Horton; granddaughters, Mariah Sierra Horton and Makiah Shae Horton; sisters, Gertrude Brannon of Santo, and Sarah Sears of Henrietta.