Carl Henry Thomas

December 9, 1937 - December 7, 2013

Carl Thomas passed away at his home on Dec. 7, 2013. He was born in Chicago to Margaret and Henry Thomas. Because of his father's employment with the Navy, Carl was a traveler in his youth. He lived in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor, in postwar Germany and later in Alaska. His family settled in San Francisco, where he completed high school and earned his master's degree in physics at UC Berkeley. After college, he worked for private industry in Santa Barbara, Calif., where he was classified as a scientist in the Nuclear Research and Development Lab. Several years later, he moved to Napa and began teaching physics at Napa Valley College, where he later became head of the physics department. He said that teaching physics to young adults was "the best job in the world." He taught at Napa Valley College for 40 years. He spent many happy retirement hours reading, which was one of his passions. Another joy was playing tennis, especially his weekly tennis games with his good friend Bruce Clymer. They would play tennis, then talk about and solve the world's problems. He loved getting together with his daughters and their families for day trips around the Bay Area. Holiday gatherings with all of his family were very special to him. One of his daughters said that she was "blessed to have been raised by such a responsible, practical and humorous dad." Carl is survived by his wife, Carolyn Redpath; two daughters, Annette Cottman (Roger) and Carole Zundel (partner Dan). His adopted daughter and son are Rebecca Thomas (partner Megan) and Randall Thomas (Judi). He has three grandchildren, Kyle Zundel and Andrew and Holly Cottman. A sister-in-law, Rosemary Christensen (Rodney), resides in Oregon. Carl, we will all truly miss you. No services will be held at Carl's request. Donations to the Napa Valley Hospice would be appreciated. Service: Napa, CA No services are planned.