R. Wayne Thomas, age 89, of Kenosha passed away peacefully on Monday, May 29, 2023 at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was born on March 1, 1934, in Kenosha to the late Robert and Elaine (Burnett) Thomas. Wayne lived his entire life on the family farm property in Somers.
Wayne graduated from St. Catherine High School in 1951. He served in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957 as a personnel carrier driver in Germany. On October 5, 1957, he married the love of his life, Paula Mueller, and they recently celebrated their 65th anniversary. He worked as a tool and die maker at Gateway Tool and Die, was the lead tool & die maker at Master Tool and later ran his own business, PT Design.
He had many hobbies including coaching boys fast pitch softball in Somers, beekeeping, and gardening, which led to his certification as a Master Gardner. He volunteered countless hours maintaining the flower beds at Brookside Care Center over 10+ years. He was a lifetime member of the Kenosha Hunting and Fishing Club, serving as past president and hunting guide for many years.
He enjoyed downhill skiing and was a member and president of the Ski-Noshans Ski Club. He was a member of the Wilmot Ski Patrol for 35 years, serving many years as slope leader. He enjoyed his annual ski trips to Utah with family and friends. After retirement, he and Paula wintered in southern Utah where they skied daily well into their 80’s.
Wayne was an active member of St. Peter Catholic Parish, where he served as an usher, eucharistic minister, parish council member, and festival co-chair. He was an enthusiastic card player and mastered the games of cribbage, pinochle and sheepshead.
Anyone who knew Wayne knew him to be a man of few words and great integrity. He was a good listener and a kind, generous person. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, and enjoyed spending time with his growing family.
Wayne is survived by his loving wife, Paula and their four children, Mary (Dino Jr.) Laurenzi of Pleasant Prairie, Jayne (Patrick) Perlman of Bristol, Toby (Kathy) Thomas of Pleasant Prairie and Stacy (Patrick) Spracklin of Silver Lake; his nine grandchildren, Kristi (Greg) Stroh, Anthony (Nicole) Laurenzi, Jessie (Mitch Harlan) Laurenzi, J.T. Perlman, Robert (Julia Moss) Thomas, Mitchell Thomas, Lindsey (Alex) Burant, Sydney (Jared) Batchelor and Anna Spracklin. He is further survived by eight great grandchildren, Charlie, Tom, Elsie and Catie Stroh, Dominic Laurenzi, Leo and Henry Burant and Oaklee Batchelor; four sisters-in-law and one brother-in-law and many nieces, nephews and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Elaine and Bob Thomas, his sister, Marilyn Ross and her husband Vernon and his granddaughter, Nicole Spracklin.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Wendel Friedl M.D., Dr. Joshua Bloom M.D., Sally Ermay Perez, and the staff at Hospice Alliance for their compassionate care.
Service Date June 3, 2023
SERVICE LOCATION St. Peter’s Catholic Church
Funeral services with full military honors honoring Wayne’s life will be held on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 12:00 p.m. at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 2224 30th Ave.
The service may be viewed via livestream on the following link facebook.com/PiaseckiFuneralHome/live/. You do not need Facebook to watch.
A visitation for Wayne will be held on Friday, June 2, 2023 from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Piasecki Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, do something kind for someone else. Wayne would have liked this.
