Avis de décès de Dan-Anderson Thomas

THOMAS Dan Anderson Thomas died on September 19, 2009. The former Jacksonville University Vice President and Dean of Faculties was a voice of wisdom and integrity in the academic and scientific communities for more than 50 years. Dan was born on October 1, 1922, in Ooltewah, TN, to Daniel Bryson Thomas and Blanche Sylar Thomas who were descendants of pioneer settlers in east Tennessee and north Alabama. Dan grew up in Chattanooga, TN, and received considerable recognition throughout his early years, but the achievement he valued most was earning the rank of Eagle Scout. He was chosen by the Chattanooga Times to telegraph daily dispatches for publication for the first-ever National Boy Scout Jamboree which was held in Washington, DC, in 1937. Dan's dedication to Scouting continued throughout his life as Scout Master and with service on Scout boards and regional councils. In 1940 Dan received the four-year scholarship to the University of Chattanooga awarded by the Chattanooga Times to the top student in Hamilton County. Active in campus activities, Dan served as editor of the university newspaper and president of Blue Key. He was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and was listed in Who's Who Among College and University Students. Called to active duty in the USNR at the end of his junior year, he attended midshipman school at Northwestern University. In March 1944 he was commissioned Ensign in the US Navy and married his college sweetheart, Elizabeth Glaze. He was selected for submarine school in New London, CT, and subsequently served on several submarines in the Pacific Fleet. After WW II he received a Ph.D. in physics at Vanderbilt University where he held an Atomic Energy Commission Fellowship in nuclear physics. His first position after graduating was Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of the South, Sewanee, TN. He then moved to Washington, DC, as research physicist at the US Naval Ordnance Laboratory, White Oak, MD. In 1952 he became Associate Professor of Physics at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL. Soon promoted to full Professor, he established a graduate program in physics at Rollins College and also worked as consultant at the US Navy Underwater Sound Reference Laboratory in Orlando. In 1958 he was elected President of the Florida Academy of Sciences. After an eleven-year tenure at Rollins College, in 1963 Dan was named Dean of the Faculty at Jacksonville University; he became Vice President and Dean of Faculties in 1967. During a period of limited financial resources for private higher education, Dan recruited and retained and excellent faculty at Jacksonville University and built a top-quality educational program that included combined-degree programs with Columbia University and Georgia Institute of Technology. Dan participated in many national scientific and educational organizations, including the Acoustical Society of America, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Conference of Academic Deans, and the American Physical Society. He served on the State of Florida Executive Commission of the American Association of University Professors, as Fellow of the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and as President of the Florida Academy of Sciences. Honorary societies included, Sigma Xi, ODK, Blue Key, Alpha Society, and Sigma Pi Sigma. Dan was listed in Who's Who in America, in American Men of Science, and in World Who's Who in Science. Locally, he served as President of the Jacksonville Museum of Arts and Sciences, now MOSH, (1979) and President of the Meninak Club (1973). After seventeen years of administrative duty, he returned to his true love, the undergraduate classroom, as Trustee Professor of Physics at Jacksonville University. The culmination of a long and rewarding career came in 1986 when Dan served for a semester as Title III Consultant to the Faculty, Administration, and Trustees of the University of Guam. He treasured the total experience: the beautiful island, the warm Chamorro people, the gratifying response from the University of Guam, and the long-lasting friendships established there. Dan retired from Jacksonville University in 1987 and spent his retirement years traveling the world (29 countries), hiking the Swiss Alps, exploring the Florida and Georgia wilderness in small boats, and raising cypress trees. Dan is survived by his wife of 65 years, Elizabeth Glaze Thomas; his daughter, Rebecca Lynn Thomas; his son, LCDR Roger Nelson Thomas; his daughter-in-law, Dr. Nancy Rhyne Thomas; his granddaughter, Bonnie Lynn Thomas, all of Jacksonville; his grandson, SSGT Kevin Rhyne Thomas, Leesburg, FL; and his sister and her husband, Annette and Merton Slutz of Chattanooga, TN. Services will be private. Memorials may be made to the Jacksonville University Library, 2800 University Blvd. N., Jacksonville, FL 32211 or to Community Hospice of NE. Florida, 4114 Sunbeam Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32257. Please Sign the Guestbook @ Jacksonville.com