Obituary of John Arthur Thomason

John Arthur Thomason, 75, passed away April 23, 2019.

Memorial Service: 10 a.m. Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Arlington Heights United Methodist Church, 4200 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107.

For donations in his memory, please give to Permanent Endowment or the Choir Fund at Arlington Heights United Methodist Church or to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for the Adventures in Music education.

John was born February 16, 1944, in Fort Worth, Texas, to James M. and Pauline Thomason.

John graduated from Carter Riverside High School, class of 1962. Southwestern University in Georgetown granted his undergraduate degree in 1966 and his Masters was earned at TCU. He taught for 31 years, including 25 years for the Fort Worth Independent School District, teaching math at Monnig Middle School, where he became the Teacher of the Year.

In 1970, he married Camille, who was his wife for nearly 49 years. Both being teachers, they loved to travel every summer and spent many hours camping. Traveling by AMTRAK was another fun experience they shared. John retired in 1999, and to his wife’s joy, offered to take over all the cooking and cleaning duties. Camille worked for a number of more years and as dinner time approached, always enjoyed his phone calls asking, “What is prepared mustard?” or “How do you sauté?” or “What does a Bundt pan look like?”  He taught himself and became an excellent cook, all the while keeping the home looking spiffy. John discovered that he really enjoyed cooking and was frequently cooking a dish to take somewhere, such as his famous rubber band cake. He also spent lots of hours being a slave to two cats and working in the yard.

A longtime member of Arlington Heights United Methodist Church, John was very active, serving as chairman of the Endowment Committee, member of Finance Committee, regular usher at the early service, and member of the Companions Sunday School Class. He was a willing volunteer for many duties around the church such as working in the Prayer Garden and clean-up and dishwashing after church functions.  More recently, he also became an associate member of the United Church of Angel Fire, NM, and participated in Firewood Angels, a mission of that church that provides winter warmth to needy persons.

A man of many interests, John was an avid cyclist, pedaling thousands of miles a year around the Fort Worth bike paths and the mountain roads of Angel Fire, which he grew to love. Riding his bike there in the cool summer temperatures was a real treat for him as were the many hours spent watching birds, deer, and other wild critters. He was a TCU football season ticket holder since 1986, going to nearly all their bowl games, and enjoyed rooting for the Rangers and Cowboys. His love of music was evident in his holding season tickets to Fort Worth Symphony for more than 40 years and to Cliburn Concerts for many years.

John was basically shy and quiet, but he had a wonderful smile and a nifty, wry sense of humor. A patient man, he loved helping people, getting great joy in doing for others, willingly and without having to be asked. The world is a much better place because he was here, and he will be much missed by his family and many friends.

Survivors: Wife, Camille Thomason; brother, James Thomason and his wife, Mary; sister, Martha Inman and her husband, John; and numerous other loving family members.