Ralph "Butch" Thomas
January 01, 2013
Ralph “Butch” Thomas, Jr., 63, died Tuesday, January 1, 2013, at Taylor House Hospice in Des Moines, following a ten-month battle with cancer. The funeral service will be 12:00 p.m. Friday, January 4, 2013, at Hamilton’s near Highland Memory Gardens, 121 NW 60th Avenue in Des Moines, with visitation two hours prior, at the funeral home. Burial will be at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery.
Butch was born November 26, 1949, to Ralph and Pauline (Husted) Thomas in Des Moines, Iowa. He began his career as a Special Coatings Engineer for Local Painters Union 246. He was honored to be enlisted in the United States Army, and served as a SP4 in the Vietnam War. Butch was a sports enthusiast. He loved to play golf, pool, darts, bowling, and fishing. Butch was a lifelong Chicago sports fan.
Butch is survived by his loving wife of 30 years, Diana; his step-daughter, Tara (Michael) Porche; his daughter, Stacey (Shawn) Enloe and daughter, Shawna Weir; his mother, Pauline Husted; sister, Bev (Gary) Wright; brothers, Ernie Thomas and Tom (Terry) Dawson; grandsons, Matthew Porche and Jacob Enloe; long-time best friend Mark (Natalie) Johnson; cherished dog, Dolly; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and other family members and beloved friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Ralph Thomas, Sr., his nephew, TJ Wright; and granddaughter, Emily Porche.
Condolences may be expressed at:
www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com
Claudia Gathercole
01/05/2013
Diane, please know that our prayers are with you and your family at this very hard time. So sorry you are going through this.
Gary Hiatt
01/04/2013
Diane, Please accept my sincere and heartfelt condolences and sympathy for your loss. My heart and prayers go out to you and your family at this time of sorrow.
Esther Caldwell
01/04/2013
Diana; Deepest sympathy to you and your family.
Bill Mulstay
01/03/2013
I'll always remember Butch with a smile on his face. He was absolutely a fun loving human being, no matter what he was doing. I haven't been around Butch very much lately, but will never forget the dart marathons in his basement with Johnson. There will always be a place in my heart for you Butch.
ben thompson
01/03/2013
butch was a great stand up guy, telling people what he had on his mind, with no reservations. loved to hear his war stories, made me proud to be an american. he was a great craftsman who taught me a lot. proud to call him a friend. i looked forward to picking him up for work and he helped me be the craftsman i am today. i will never forget you butch.
Robert Flatt
01/03/2013
What a happy fun loving guy. I will always remember him that way.
Even though he tried to hide it he had the warmest heart. A guy that would always have your back.
I will miss him forever ... my deepest condolences to Diana Ernie Tommy Bev and his Mom, Pauline. He loved you all very much.
Sherry Parker
01/03/2013
My prayers are with the family at this time of sorrow- take comfort in that you took very good care of Butch in his last days and you were with him. I will miss him and will miss the arguing we use to do each time we saw each other- his OCD and his loud voice- he will be in our hearts.