Perry Samuel Thomas

Perry Samuel Thomas was born on December 27th, 1923 in Denver, Colorado to the late Perry & Jesse Lee Loggin Thomas. He was the first of ten children including Chester Thomas, Stella Mae (Thomas) Robbins, Helen Thomas, Barbara (Thomas) Smith, Patricia (Thomas) Smoots, Jeanette (Thomas) Robinson, William Thomas, Geraldine (Thomas) Kennedy & Robert Thomas.

Perry was reared and educated in Denver, Colorado where his family attended Zion Baptist Church and he graduated from Manual High School in 1941. After graduation he worked at various employers until enlisting in the Army in 1942, initially training for the signal corps at the University of Wisconsin. In 1943 he was selected for the US Army Air Corp training program for African American pilot candidates at Tuskegee, Alabama. Perry successfully completed basic & advanced flight training at Moton Field & Tuskegee Army Air Field as a member of class 45-I. As World War II was ending he transferred into the Ready Reserve and returned to Denver at the end of the war.

He enrolled at the University of Denver, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1949 and becoming the first African American to receive an engineering degree from this University. After graduation he was employed in a variety of positions in Colorado & Wyoming including an electrician at Hunter Electric & Dones Electric Company and a sub-station operator for the US Bureau of Reclamation.

In 1950 he met Harriette Elizabeth Bass and they were joined in Holy Wedlock on February 4, 1951. They moved to Seattle, Washington in 1952 when Perry was hired as an electrical engineer by the Boeing Company and where they raised two children Lee Michael Thomas and Lynne Michelle (Thomas) Binion.

Perry worked as an Aerospace engineer & manager on a variety of Aerospace programs at Boeing including SRAM, Minuteman & AWACS/E3A until his retirement in 1989.

He was a member of a number of Fraternal and Professional organizations including Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Prince Hall Masons (Seattle) and the Sam Bruce Chapter of Tuskegee Airman International. As one of the original Tuskegee Airman he was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in 2007.

Perry Samuel Thomas passed away on December 12, 2012. He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Harriette Elizabeth Bass Thomas, his brother Chester and his sisters Stella, Helen, Barbara & Patricia.

He is survived by his son, daughter, grandson, brothers & sisters, a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and many friends.