Obituary of John R. Thomas

Thomas, John R. age 84 of Toms River died Friday, March 23, 2012. Born in Brooklyn, NY, raised in Cliffside Park, he lived in Montvale before retiring to Toms River 15 years ago. John was a WWII Army Air Corps Veteran. Before his retirement, he was in Sales for Milliken and Co. of NY for 45 years. He was a parishioner of St. Luke's R.C. Church, Toms River, NJ and a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Holy Name Society. Surviving is his beloved wife of 59 years, Marion (nee Dougherty) of Toms River, his children, John C. Thomas of Montana, Geralyn Wright of Franklin Lakes, Ellen Wilson of Mahwah, Peter Thomas of Arizona, Susan Padovano, Colts Neck and Michael Thomas of New Milford, CT. Also surviving are 18 loving grandchildren. Visitation will be at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home, www.vpfh.com, 257 Godwin Ave. Wyckoff, NJ on Sunday 2-4 and 7-9 pm. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Most Blessed Sacrament R.C. Church, 787 Franklin Lakes Road, Franklin Lakes, NJ on Monday 11 am. A private burial will be held at Maryrest Cemetery in Mahwah at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimers Association, 400 Morris Ave. Suite 251, Denville, NJ 07834.