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Paul Thomas

Paul Leon Thomas, born Nov. 15, 1943, departed this life in the early hours of Aug. 27, 2010. He was buried 24 hours later in the Grant Township Cemetery on a beautiful Flint Hills morning. His body lies adjacent to the burials of a number of his ancestors.

He was deeply religious and a devout Christian.

His wife of 43 years, Jeanice, and his niece, Rachel Black, will always mourn him.

He paid for his entire college education with a full debate scholarship.

His debate partner and his debate coach, both dear friends, preceded him in death. The three of them tore up the debate world, winning award after award, most on the national level.

He was truly a Renaissance man, interested in almost everything and able to converse easily on a wide variety of subjects. He was a student of military history and an expert on World War I aviation.

He was also fascinated by the American west and the Flint Hills.

One of the regrets he expressed at the end of his life was that he had not had sufficient time to participate more fully in the life of this community. He often dreamed about how we could make the city of Marion and Marion County “better” without losing any of the unique qualities, which already make it such a wonderful place to live. He thought a mural on the building where Zimmerman’s Deli once was located would be great. “Could incorporate the door, the stairs, sort of like that mural in Old Town in Wichita…” He had a file of pictures of life-size bronzes of longhorns and cowboys on horseback that are particularly popular in Texas and said, “Wouldn’t it be fun if, out on the Santa Fe Trail, there could be bronzes of wagons and teams traveling the trail. People would come to take photos and …”

The character of Marion, its beautiful buildings, its warm people — over and over again through the last few months he said, “The best thing we ever did was move here.”

He was active in politics all his adult life. He was known in the Sedgwick County Bar as “the judge maker.” Although he knew he was dying, he was recently Marion County Co-chair for Congressman Jerry Moran’s campaign for the U.S. Senate. He and Jerry had been friends since when they both had hair on the top of their heads. At the time Paul was appointed as a Kansas District Court Judge by Governor Robert Bennett, he was the youngest judge in the state. The entire time he remained on the bench he always received the very highest ratings by his peers in the bar association.

He didn’t have a hobby, he had dozens of them. He was a fabulous cook and host. He loved cooking for 50 or five. Before moving into a smaller residence here, he owned over 2,000 cookbooks.

His favorite vice was expensive cigars.

The hundreds and hundreds of other books that he owned displayed the range of his interests, from “The Wind in the Willows” to “The Iliad.”

He was passionate about theatre and film. In the last week of his life he said, “Darn, I won’t get to see the new Harry Potter movie.” His DVD collection even impressed his teenage great-nephew.

From boyhood, he loved flying model airplanes and a short time ago participated in the finalization of plans that will enable the Heart of America Free Flight Association to hold an October competition at Marion City Airport.

The ancients had a saying, “It is unwise to be born in interesting times.” Those who lived through the World War II era lived in interesting times. So did those who came to age in the Vietnam War years.

Paul always joked that he had very little memory of one of the most important weeks of his life — the week in which he passed the bar examination, got married, and was drafted. For the rest of his life he hated the sound of helicopter blades turning, although he never regretted serving his country in those turbulent years.

He laughed often that the only man he had ever been jealous of died in 1611 — William Shakespeare. While not being a Bardolater like his wife, he would not mind the following being added to this obituary, which she intended to be a part of the service if he had died as a soldier: “Fear no more the heat o’ the sun, Nor the furious winter’s rages; Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages … Quiet consummation have: And renowned be thy grave.”

Graduate of Washburn University, undergraduate and laws degrees. Admitted to the Kansas Bar, 1968. District Court Judge. Member Wichita Bar Association, Kansas Bar Association, American Bar Association, Kansas Trial Lawyers’ Association, New York State Trial Lawyers’ Association, Association of Trial Lawyers’ of America, American Judges’ Association. Nominated as a Federal District Court Judge by Senator Robert Dole. U.S. Army Green Beret Counter Intelligence Agent.

Last modified Sept. 2, 2010

 

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