Alexander Brast Thomas
(April 28, 1914 - August 20, 2012)

COMMANDER ALEXANDER BRAST THOMAS, UNITED STATES NAVY (RET.) Long-time Huntington resident Brast Thomas, 98, died peacefully at home on Monday, August 20, 2012 after a short illness. A third-generation Civil Engineer and retired Naval Officer, Commander Thomas was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 28, 1914, to the late C.C. Thomas and the late Imogene Brast Thomas. Mr. Thomas graduated from Lehigh University in 1938 with a degree in Civil Engineering and several years of ROTC under his belt. When the United States found itself drawn into World War II after Pearl Harbor, Mr. Thomas was among the 16 million or so men and women from "the Greatest Generation" who joined the United States Armed Forces to serve our country. He shipped out for the Solomon Islands on the USS Henderson – the Queen of the Navy transport fleet. In the South Pacific he served in one of the newly formed Naval Construction Battalions, building bridges, roads, hospitals, and housing. He and his fellow "Seabees" often operated under fire and sometimes were forced to join in the fighting to defend themselves and protect their construction projects. After the war, Mr. Thomas returned to Huntington to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, taking over the company his grandfather founded in the late 1800's. Today Thomas Co. Inc. is one of the three oldest engineering firms in the state of West Virginia. Mr. Thomas was a Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers, and had been a member of the Engineers Club of Huntington since February, 1954. In 2007, he was awarded a Life Membership in the Engineers Club of Huntington – its highest honor – based on service to the community and to the organization. He was a Director of the Club at the time of his death. Mr. Thomas was also a Kentucky Colonel; a member of the Huntington Museum of Art; a member and benefactor of the U.S. Naval Institute; and a lifelong member of the Navy League of the United States. He served the League in a number of capacities over the years, holding state and regional offices, serving as a National Director and, most recently, as Director Emeritus. He also cared deeply about the City of Huntington and its residents, and when he saw a need, he was generous – usually anonymously – with his time, money, and expertise to see that it was met. Commander Thomas especially loved teaching, and passing on what he had learned to others brought him great joy. One program close to his heart was the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps., which, in cooperation with the Department of the Navy, encourages young Americans to develop their leadership abilities, trains them in seagoing skills, and teaches them the self-reliance and courage they need to become mature young adults. For many years Commander Thomas was an unofficial advisor to the local Sea Cadet chapter. In addition to his parents, Commander Thomas was preceded in death by his brother John; his beloved sister Carol; and his wife Barbara Scherr Wiles Thomas. He was greatly loved and will be missed by stepchildren Juliette Kirkpatrick Wiles of Huntington; Lisa Wiles Raser of Dayton, Ohio and her family; Villie Kirkpatrick Wiles, Jr. and his wife Carole of Albany, GA and their family; and Joseph C. Wiles of Dayton; cousins John A. Thomas (Carol) of Reeders, Pennsylvania; Jane Brast Turley of Parkersburg; Patricia Thomas Comess (Barry) and John Thomas (Becky) of Richmond, VA; and a host of close friends throughout the United States. Mr. Thomas often said that as he grew older, he would be asked, "You have lived a long and productive life – what's your secret?" His answer was always the same: "Curiosity, and a mind capable of taking me wherever I want to go." Then he would add, with a twinkle in his eye, "If you embrace just that one thing – curiosity – you may grow old one day and discover, as I have, to paraphrase the French novelist Marcel Proust, the voyage does not always lie in seeking new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes." To honor his passion for educating the young, the family suggests that in lieu of flowers, those who would like to honor Mr. Thomas's memory make a donation to the Alexander B. Thomas Memorial Fund for Engineering Education, c/o the Marshall University Foundation, Inc., Marshall University Foundation Hall, 519 John Marshall Drive, Huntington WV 25703.
Services will be private. A celebration of Mr. Thomas's life will be announced at a later date.