James Dawson Thomas, an 81-year-old resident of Arcadia, departed this earth on December 28, 2014 at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. Born in Walla Walla, Washington on May 18, 1933 to Michael and May Thomas, Jim, his younger sister Barbara, and his parents moved to Pasadena in 1948.

Jim graduated from South Pasadena - San Marino High School in 1951. He went on to Stanford University, was a member of the Chi Psi fraternity and earned his undergraduate degree in Engineering in 1955. That year, he married Jeannette Gary and after a few years in Southern California, with three young children in tow, the moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts so Jim could pursue his Harvard MBA, which he obtained in 1960. During this time, his parents had passed away and Jim decided a family move back to the west coast to be closer to his sister and Jeannette's parents was important. Taking a job with Standard Oil, they moved into a home in San Rafael.

Jim's passion had always been in aviation and the family relocated to Southern California in 1964 so he could join the aerospace industry. Over the next several years, Jim was employed by TRW, Northrop, and Boeing, mostly performing classified work. He was, however, most proud of his contribution to the development of the B-2 Stealth Bomber. Jim and Jeannette divorced in 1979 and in 1982 he married Janet Zemba.

Jim began his second career in real estate in the early 90s and was elected to the Arcadia Association of Realtors, serving as president in 1998. In 2009, he was awarded Arcadia's Realtor of the Year. Later in his career, Jim took on the responsibility of managing multiple ReMax offices, allowing him the opportunity to experience his greatest joy in business; coaching and mentoring young real estate entrepreneurs. This passion enabled him to continue working up until he literally couldn't speak anymore due to the impact of chemotherapy. In his free time, Jim volunteered in a reading program with underprivileged kids. He loved to walk and hike with his dogs in the Arcadia hills, and he had a passion for travel, especially to Maui.

Character, generosity, and integrity were significant attributes of Jim and he was always one to lend his time, a kind word, or a caring hand. There was never a moment that he was not there to offer encouragement and support to his colleagues, friends, and family. He was a good man and will be dearly missed by all of those whose heart was touched by his love.

Jim is survived by his wife, Janet; his daughters, Laurie (Russ) Wyatt, Diane (Jim) Reifert, Christine (Dave) Nickerson; his son, Jim (Shawn); three grandchildren; and his beloved sister, Barbara Anderson (SPHS '53).

Pasadena-Star News, January 9, 2015