Charles Watson Thomas

September 27, 1932 - July 17, 2021

July 18, 2021 by Jamie

My Uncle Charles Thomas, Army Ranger. Thinking of him today after his passing away yesterday, July 17, 2021.

He was the last child born to my grandparents and was seven years younger than my mother. I remember vividly one story that she told me. She said that he was a lazy child and had to be prodded to do any chores. He loved to lay on the sofa and would ignore her attempts to get him to help. One day, she yelled at him to get off the sofa because there was a snake climbing on it and about to get him. He just laughed and said he didn't believe her. I think she ran over and yanked him off the sofa. To his surprise, there was really a snake! (He acknowledged and laughed about this story. He agreed he was lazy then. He wasn’t that old. Lol) She may have thought he was lazy as a child, but he grew up to be a fine, upstanding, hard working man, husband, and father.

Charles attended Bessemer High School where he was predicted to be a Forest Ranger and named biggest flirt. He played football in his junior and senior years and also performed in the senior class play.

He graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in Auburn, Alabama. This Institute is now known as Auburn University.

He was selected and served as an Army Ranger, which is quite an honor and accomplishment.

When he met the love of his life, Betty, he said she came to the door with her two little sons. He told me he fell in love with the little boys before he fell in love with her. Betty and Charles were married from 1959 until her death in 2016. Their family grew with the addition of their two girls.

This is but a small glimpse into his life. He was a kind and loving uncle, and I will miss my visits with him. He lives on in so many hearts.