DONALD THOMAS, age 64, of 106 N. Center St., Canton, died at the Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre Friday morning, May 14, 1976 following an extended illness. He was born in Hallstead, Pa., Oct. 9, 1911 a son of Ira and Minnie Delong Thomas.
He was president of the Canton Publishing Company and managing editor of the Canton Independent-Sentinel since 1945. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Canton. Mr. Thomas was civic minded and served as mayor of Canton for nearly 20 years. He was a member of the Bradford County Planning Commission and served as its chairman and treasurer. He was director of the Canton Development, Inc. Mr. Thomas was appointed a director of the First National Bank of Canton and had served in that capacity since 1967. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association, the Pennsylvania Society of Newspaper Editors, the Pennsylvania Press Photographers Association, Sigma Delta Chi, and the Penn State Professional Journalistic Society. He was listed in “Who’s Who in America” and “Who’s Who in the East.” He had served as superintendent of the Sunday school, lay reader, chairman of the administrative board and president of the board of trustees of the First United Methodist Church of Canton. He was a past president and member of the Canton Rotary Club, the Canton Lodge No. 415, F&AM, the Williamsport Consistory, the Irem Temple Shrine, the Canton IOOF Lodge and the Minnequa Grange. He also belonged to fraternal clubs, the Ross Club of Williamsport and the Wheel Inn. He was a Republican committeeman for several years and was a director of the Blue Cross Corporation of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
He is survived by his wife, Helen; one daughter, Karen Hess of Canton; three sons, Roger of Wolcott, N.Y., David of Gillette, Wyo., and Brian stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Minot, N.D.; five sisters, Mrs. Nettie Leonard of Zephyrhills, Fla., Mrs. E. M. Smith of Binghamton, N.Y., Mrs. Duane Lawrence of Columbus, Ga., Mrs. DeWave Briggs of Binghamton and Mrs. Lottie Thomas of Binghamton; and four brothers, George Thomas of San Diego, Calif., Raymond Thomas of Cincinnati, Ohio, Lynn Thomas of Binghamton and Bergen Thomas of New Carlisle, Ind. Funeral services will be held Monday at 2 p.m. at the Morse Funeral Home, Canton. Officiating will be the Rev. Dr. Raymond D. Fravel, pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Canton. Interment will be in the E. Canton Cemetery.
