John Jay Thomas

John was born in Hanford, Ca on November 9, 1950, to Fred and Katheryn Thomas with the most stunning blue eyes. Shortly after the family moved to Farmersville, Ca where his father owned and operated Farmersville Liquor. The Family including his sisters Sonya and Courtney, eventually moved to Visalia, Ca where John attended George McCann and Mt Whitney High School.

After graduating from Fresno State with a BS in Industrial Design, John went into business with his father expanding and running Farmersville Liquor.

In 1984 John went to work at Frito Lay as a route salesman. Upon retiring in 2010 John move fulltime to Silver Strand Beach, Ca where he and his wife, Diane, of 35 years would begin their retirement together and embark on their new adventure of breeding, raising, and showing Scottish Terriers.

In 2013 John and Diane bought their dream property in Lemon Cove, Ca where they enjoyed working on the property and sitting out watching the sunset on the hills.

John was the epitome of a "girl dad" before the term was popular. The joys of his life were his two daughters, Hillary and Adrienne. He loved his two girls deeply and would do anything for them including styling his youngest daughter’s hair in a ponytail, even if it took 10+ attempts to achieve the tightness to her liking. He was their biggest champion, never more than a phone call away to remind either, that anything they set their minds to was possible and whatever challenge they may be facing today will work itself out, "as sure as shit the sun will rise tomorrow".

John was avid Fresno State Bulldogs, San Francisco Giants and 49ers fan. He enjoyed, golfing, traveling, music, cars, and designing and building structures, like the famous playhouse he built for his daughters, along with many other home improvement projects.

John loved a good party and entertaining. He threw a hell of a Superbowl party, where he loved to run the pools. He and Diane hosted Christmas day for many years where he was known for cooking a killer prime rib and making his own creamed horseradish.

John loved his family and friends beyond measure and will be missed by many.

John is survived by his wife, Diane Thomas, daughters Hillary Thomas, Adrienne Lamb, (Gerald), sister Courtney Barnes, (Lloyd), and many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Katheryn Thomas, and sister Sonya Base.

A Celebration of Life (a party as John wanted) will be held on July 20th, 2024, at 5pm at 24640 Ave 330, Lemon Cove.

An expression of gratitude and thanks to Dr. Hamid, Dr. Chiu, all the oncology nurses and staff at the Angeles Clinic, and Dr. Nissen's team at Cedars-Sinai for the care and compassion they gave John.

In lieu of flowers the family ask for donations to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) or your favorite charity in honor of John.