Warren Ray Thomas, 95, of Scottsbluff, NE passed away peacefully in his sleep at The Village assisted living facility on June 20th, 2021. His memorial service will be held 10:00 a.m., Friday, October 1, 2021, at Bridgman Funeral Home in Scottsbluff with Warren’s son, John Thomas officiating. Inurnment will follow in the Forest Lawn Cemetery at Morrill with military honors provided by Nebraska Army National Guard and American Legion Post No. 36 Honor Guard. Memorials may be made to the Warren Thomas Memorial and will be designated for animal rescue work. Online condolences may be left at www.bridgmanfunralhome.com.
Warren was born February 23rd, 1926, to Carl and Mary (Horn) Thomas in Scottsbluff, NE. After an early graduation from Morrill High School in 1944 he enlisted in the army at the age of 17. After training in numerous locations, including the University of Iowa, Camp Abbot, OR, Fort Lewis, WA and Fort Belvoir, VA. He was stationed in the Philippines during World War II. After serving in World War II Warren was discharged in May of 1946 with the rank of Technician Fifth Grade. His decorations include the Good Conduct Medal, Victory Medal and the Meritorious Unit Award.
After World War II, Warren went on to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nebraska in 1946. He was a member of the UNL Marching Band in which he played the coronet, and he was in the Sigma Chi fraternity. After graduating in 1950 he began farming in the Dutch Flats area near Morrill, NE and stayed there until 1955. In 1952, Warren married Edna Claire Allen and went on to have three children: Carl, Margaret and John.
In 1955, Warren accepted an engineering position with the Bureau of Reclamation in Denver, CO where he helped engineer the construction of a number of major dams in the western United States. In the early 70’s he helped supervise the construction of a bridge in Japan which was sent back to the U.S. for assembly. He worked at the Bureau until he retired in 1979. In the early 80’s Warren did some engineering consulting work in western Colorado then in 1984 he returned to Morrill, NE to farm and remained until 1989.
After fully retiring in 1989, Warren moved to Fort Collins, CO and spent his time playing bridge and volunteering for the Red Cross assisting with flood, hurricane and tornado relief in areas including West Virginia, Iowa, Louisiana, and Guam.
Warren was soft-spoken and always more comfortable listening than speaking. He was very generous to others and a devoted father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
He is survived by sons Carl Thomas of Morrill, NE; John (Debbie) Thomas of Mitchell, NE; daughter Margaret (John Doyle) Shady of Elkton, VA; six grandchildren Courtney Schuler, Chelsea Thomas, Andrew Thomas, Lauren Southworth, Robyn Pickering and Megan Ferraro; and six great-grandchildren Jerrod Schuler, Nyah Schuler, Emersyn Southworth, Eloise Pickering, Beatrice Pickering and Theodore Pickering. His parents, brother Robert Thomas, sister Marion Thomas and the mother of his children Edna C. Thomas preceded him in death.