THOMAS, Byron Lloyd, 74 years old, a United States Air Force Vietnam Veteran, was called home to be with his Lord on May 19th 2019. He is survived by his wife of 48 1/2 years, Lila Lee Thomas, his daughter Deborah Jenkins and husband Ron; daughter Rebecca Chaney and husband James; son Daniel Thomas and wife Suzanne; twelve grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; and sister Mary Cunningham and husband Robert along with numerous nieces and nephews.
Byron was pre-deceased by his parents Samuel Warren Thomas and Alcya May Howard, siblings Basil Thomas, Joe Thomas, Karen Crawford, and Dennis Thomas.
Byron was honorably discharged from the Air Force following four years of service. As a Vietnam veteran, Byron earned the National Defense Service medal, the Vietnam Service medal with one bronze star, the Good Conduct medal (three consecutive years), the Republic Vietnam Campaign medal, and the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship ribbon.
Following his service with the Airforce, Byron married Lila, adopting her two daughters, Deborah and Rebecca as his own. He worked for a number of years with John Deere and also as a civilian heavy equipment mechanic for the Army and National Guard. His understanding of heavy equipment mechanics was so good that John Deere customers would ask and wait for him specifically to come out and repair their tractors. This led to several years of working as an independent heavy equipment mechanic.
During his time in civilian service for the National Guard, Byron was the head of a unit in charge of maintaining the guns in peak operational condition. His unit was so good at their job that Byron was recognized with an award for Sustained Superior Performance as a National Guard Tech.
In addition, while with the National Guard, Byron had the opportunity to go to Germany. He took with him a Bible that his daughter had slipped into his luggage. When he returned home, he confessed that, though he’d always thought of himself as a Christian, he’d never accepted Christ as his personal savior. Reading the Bible while in Germany, he had become convicted of his need for Jesus and had trusted in Christ alone for his salvation.
Today we rejoice that Byron is in the arms of his Lord and Savior.
A Visitation will be held on Thursday, May 30, 2019 from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM at Surprise Funeral Care, 16063 West Bell Road, Surprise, Arizona. A Funeral Service will be held on Friday, May 31, 2019 at 10:00 AM at Cross Church, 17475 West Bell Road, Surprise, Arizona. A Committal Service with Honors will be held on Monday, June 03, 2019 at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, 23029 North Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, Arizona.
To sign the guestbook and share memories, and send condolences and well-wishes to the family, please visit, www.surprisefuneralcare.com.
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