Col. Charlie Thomas, a former Kirtland Air Force Base commander who retired in Albuquerque and became an avid supporter of the base and the community, died Wednesday night after a brief fight with pancreatic cancer. Thomas was 71.
His wife, Gina Thomas, said he was diagnosed with cancer on Oct. 25, nine days after their 46th wedding anniversary. Though doctors initially said he had three to six months to live, the disease advanced quickly, and he died while under hospice care.
Thomas was born on June 1, 1940, in Manhattan to Charles G. and Rosa Bauer Thomas, both of whom were born in Germany.
After surviving polio at age 9 and missing a year of school, Thomas quickly caught up with his classmates. Shortly before graduating from high school, Thomas read about the Air Force Academy and, after taking the SAT Test at age 16 with no preparation, was accepted to the prestigious school. He graduated in 1961 with degrees in aeronautical engineering and engineering sciences.
After pilot training, Thomas flew C-117 transports – a military variation of the Douglas DC-6 airliner – in and out of Vietnam, earning nine Vietnam Service Medals. He later flew C-135 jet transports and compiled more than 7,000 flight hours during his 31-year Air Force career.
He met his wife at a party in January 1965, and the couple married nine months later in New York City. They have three children: Jennifer Harkins of Boston; Elizabeth Shriver of Las Vegas, Nev.; and Brian Thomas of Lubbock, Texas.
The family moved 17 times during Thomas’ military career, Gina Thomas said.
After managing the Air Force’s base structure at the Pentagon as a deputy director, Thomas was named commander of the 1606th Air Base Wing at Kirtland, where he worked from 1985 to 1988.
The diverse base won Air Force Installation Excellence Awards three of the four years he was commander. Thomas also oversaw the first merger of medical services between an active Air Force base and a regional VA medical center.
After retiring in 1988, Thomas was a senior research engineer at a University of New Mexico research institute and state General Services secretary under Republican Gov. Garrey Carruthers.
“Charlie was an outstanding member of my administrative team, and was absolutely one of the most congenial and cooperative guys to work with,” Carruthers said Thursday.
Later, Thomas became a department manager at Sandia National Laboratories and was active with the Kirtland Partnership Committee, formed in 1995 to lobby against closure of the base.
“Charlie Thomas was a linchpin of the Kirtland Partnership Committee,” chairman John Garcia said Thursday. “He was a key part of the effort to save Kirtland AFB from downsizing in 1995, when he drafted many of the position papers which led to Kirtland AFB being taken off the list.”
A viewing will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at French Mortuary chapel, 10500 Lomas NE. Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday at John XXIII Catholic Community, 4831 Tramway Ridge NE.
Former Commander Helped Save KirtlandTHOMAS
Col. Charlie Thomas
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal
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