Obituary

Businessman-philanthropist led a life of adventure

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published September 7, 2007

TAMPA - His list of accomplishments reads like a novel. But beneath the foundations, the boards and the corporations lived a man who just wanted to help people, his family said.

Bob Thomas, Tampa businessman and philanthropist, died Sunday at age 83. His son said he had a small bout of pneumonia recently, and died in his sleep.

He dealt in everything from phosphate mining to banking to developing seaports. He owned more than 17,000 acres in three counties.

He was one of the richest men in town, but was quick to share his fortune.

Mr. Thomas was a founder of Joshua House, and a director of Divine Providence Food Bank and Metropolitan Ministries. He gave money to more organizations than his family can count.

"He was a kind, gentle, compassionate, very caring individual interested in trying to help other people," said his son, Robert Thomas. "A very self-sacrificing kind of guy."

Paralyzed by polio at age 30, Mr. Thomas got around on crutches and in a wheelchair. But that didn't mean he was slow.

The lifelong equestrian was a founder of the Florida State Fair Horse Show Association. He would ride harnessed in a sulky. Sometimes, friends would come along.

"He had a lot of fun, but whoever rode with him never did it twice," his son said. "He was a speedster. He liked the like thrill of the chase."

In 1991, Mr. Thomas made headlines when he was kidnapped at gunpoint as he left his Palma Ceia home for church. He came home safely two days later. His four children and wife, Suzanne, stood by him through the ordeal.

"It was a very traumatizing experience for him and for all of us as a family," Robert Thomas said. "It brought us closer together. It was a terrible nightmare, but in another way it really helped us focus us on what was important."

Mr. Thomas was a devout Catholic, and went to Mass almost every day, his son said. For 10 years, he hosted a radio show called Appreciating the Bible.

He was chairman of foundations at the Academy of the Holy Names and Jesuit High School, and was chairman of the board at Ave Maria University, a new Catholic university in Naples.

Less than a week ago, Mr. Thomas received an honorary doctorate from Ave Maria. It was one of his proudest moments.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

Biography

Bob Thomas

Born: July 13, 1924.

Died: Sept. 2, 2007.

Survivors: Children, Susan Thomas, Anne Thomas, Robert M. Thomas and Christina Thomas Sievers; son-in-law, Mark Sievers; grandchildren, Wayne Thomas, William Sievers, and Suzanne Sievers.

Services: Visitation from 9:30 to 11 a.m., St. Lawrence Catholic Church, Tampa. Funeral mass at 11:30 a.m.

[Last modified September 7, 2007, 06:35:04]