John Thekkemannil Thomas

Mr. Thomas was born in Chetheckal, Kerala, India, in 1933 to the late T.M. Yohannan and Annamma (Chackanattu). In 1970, he moved to Greensboro to get a job at North Carolina A&T University. Soon after, he married his wife of 53 years, Molly. He went on to have his daughter Bina (Jim) and two sons, John (Cindy) and Bobby (Jennifer). He is survived by them, their spouses, his eight grandsons (Jonathan, Gabriel, and Michael Zacharias; Jackson and Jordan Thomas; Christian, Lane, and Parker Thomas), and his sole granddaughter, Helena Zacharias.

After working as a successful practicing accountant and attorney in Mumbai, India, John braved the unknown to accept an abroad graduate study opportunity at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. He then went on to work in the Deep South during the civil rights movement at the University of Alabama. His adventurous spirit next took him north to accept a post at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro. He started a local accounting practice and then turned to focus on a long and fruitful real estate and appraisal entrepreneurial career, where he spent the bulk of his remaining professional life running his firms.

John taught Real Estate and Appraisal at Guilford Technical Community College during his residency in Greensboro. He was also a long-time supporter of the Easter Seals and was a founder and president of the Indo-American Cultural Society of Greensboro. No one who met John forgot his ever-smiling face, the twinkle in his eye, his razor-sharp sense of humor, or his zest for life. This was coupled with his belief in the possibility and potential of what lay just around the corner. He never shied away from hard work, a philosophical quote or lesson to recant, or from being ambitious for his next quest. He was a disciplined man who taught the power of grit and diligence. In his free time, he constantly loved to fine-tune his garden, boast of his bountiful yields, demonstrate his culinary prowess and spend time with his wife, three children, and nine grandchildren.

Remembrance Services will be held on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at 2 p.m., at Hanes Lineberry Sedgefield Chapel, 6000 West Gate City Blvd., Greensboro, NC 27407. Burial will immediately follow in Guilford Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will receive friends and loved ones, one hour prior to the funeral services from 1 p.m. until service time. Following the committal service, there will be a catered reception in the funeral home’s reception hall for a time of fellowship, reflection, and sharing of memories.

In lieu of flowers, John loved nothing more than gardening, plants, and trees. Please consider a gift planting trees in memory with alivingtribute.org or with The National Arbor Day Foundation. They will plant trees in the name of John Thekkemannil Thomas for the needed reforestation of national parks and forests, and we can think of nothing that would make Dad happier than knowing he still had a hand in planting the future. https://shop.arborday.org/commemorative-trees-for-others?producttype=TIM&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid-search&utm_campaign=04667-commemorative-tim&utm_term=arbor%20day%20foundation%20memory&utm_content=trees-in-memory&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22254796782&gclid=CjwKCAjw3f_BBhAPEiwAaA3K5Gk1HSqeOVaq1e_2G0JK3bHhxbv1QXq_qKIaM_UoIlcHTnjrrKv7_BoCOlwQAvD_BwE

https://shop.alivingtribute.org/products/tree-planting-with-mailed-sympathy-card

Online condolences may be made at www.haneslineberryfhsedgefield.com