Henry Richard Thomas' Obituary
Orem — Henry Richard Thomas, born December 15, 1936, on a snowy night in Wales, Utah, passed away peacefully on October 6, 2024, surrounded by family and within arm’s reach of the wedding day photograph of his beloved wife, Ruth B. Thomas.
The fourth child of Mary Jane Lamb and Moroni Midgley Thomas, Richard was named after his grandfather, and was close to his siblings, Lula, Vaughn, Rhea, Alta, and Betty. A son of Sanpete County, he grew up riding—and often falling off—his wild horse Zip, chopping wood, herding sheep, and milking cows long hours past dusk.
He would carry that work ethic—and a love of mountains and music—with him throughout his life. Richard always went the extra mile. He memorized 800 scriptures for his 1957 mission to the British Isles and Ireland. An avid and active student at Utah State University, he served as president of the 70 independent organizations on campus, engaged with scholars of all backgrounds and faiths, and graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology. While earning his JD at University of Utah in 1967, he also received a master’s at the Institute of Religion. During Richard’s last year of law school, he was on the Serviceman’s Committee for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Until then, LDS chaplains had served under the Protestant designation. He collected data and wrote the paper that was presented to President Lyndon B. Johnson who authorized the change.
Teaching, especially at the college level, was a passion. Richard taught Institute of Religion at the LDS Business College, University of Utah, and UCLA. Then, in 1971, he entered the field of public housing. At Housing and Urban Development in LA and San Francisco, Richard helped transform modern Indian Housing Law. He worked tirelessly to ensure that Native American communities across the West had access to federal housing and infrastructure funds, and that these programs were led by Native American attorneys.
In the midst of this work, Richard met Ruth and her children, Daniel, Jonathan, Andrew, and Laurie. Married May 23, 1981, Richard and Ruth enjoyed four decades of adventure together, hiking, creating homes, building a flower business, raising stepchildren, traveling the world, and becoming, for many, a model of enduring love. When the Tubbs fire tragically took their Santa Rosa home, Richard and Ruth found solace returning to Utah, where they spent their last days living near his siblings and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Richard’s profound decency, strength, intelligence, playful wit, and steadfast love will live on in the hearts of family and friends. He is survived by his stepsons, Jonathan Posner and Andrew (Uyen) Posner; stepdaughter, Laurie (Helena) Posner; grandchildren, Eva and Gabriel; sisters, Alta Boyter and Betty (Roger) Jensen; sister-in-law, Connie Thomas; and cherished family.
A celebration of life will be held at Wales, Utah Cemetery at 11 AM on October 26, 2024, where Richard’s and Ruth’s ashes will be laid to rest together, near the foothills of his youth.
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