Eduardo Thomas

Eduardo (Billy) Thomas was born in the city of Panama, Republic of Panama on September 15th 1938 to the late Mrs. Ruby Grant and Mr. Eduardo Lawrence. Dad grew up in Rio Abajo, a famous well known community in the city of Panama. After retiring from the Panama Canal Commission, he migrated to the United States in 1988 to provide a better life for his family. Dads are someone to look up to, someone to follow, admire, be proud of, brag about, hold, cry with, learn from, respect, and also, sometimes rebel against, to listen to, talk to, impress, and most of all, with whom to share everything this wonderful life has to offer. We are so incredibly grateful and happy that we can stand here today and tell you that we have had all of this and much more with our dad. We have been blessed to have had Billy as our father. To say we loved our father would be an understatement and to say that he will be missed would be an even greater understatement. Dad was a very humble man and an incredibly hard worker. He was compassionate towards others and was always there for family, friends, neighbors and colleagues. Dad was a great husband to mom. She used to joke that she was the Boss and the Queen of the house and he didn’t mind. For over 50 years, they have shared everything life can offer and persevered through whatever adversity that they encountered together. They were a great team supporting each other in every way and he was extremely appreciative. Dad's unconditional love is something I will always cherish. His kindness and generosity will be remembered by all who had the pleasure of knowing him. Billy was preceded by his wife Rosa Thomas of over 50 years of marriage. Billy leaves his 8 children to honor his memory: Eduardo (Papo) Thomas (RIP), Lynnette Thomas, Fernando Thomas, Mario Thomas, Ricardo Thomas, Ana de Rodríguez, Alejandro Chan and Lourdes Chan. He leaves his grandchildren: Fernando Thomas Jr, Brent Thomas, Dejanique Thomas, Eduardo (EJ) Thomas, Mario Thomas Jr, Alyssa Thomas, Julian Thomas, Evan Thomas, Zackary Thomas, Xavier Thomas, Breanna Thomas, Yentamy Rodríguez, Alejandro Rodríguez, Debra Rodríguez, Alejandro Chan, Leing Chan, Yuend Chan, Kadir Chan, and Yamil Espino. Billy is survived by 1 brother and 2 sisters: Delfina Mckinon, Ana Hinds, and Thomas Grant.