John Thomas 1958-2015

Posted on by jsudar

This is my ex’s obit that is running on our local paper this week.

John Thomas

07/18/1958 – 11/21/2015

John was born in Camden, Maine to Maurice and Barbara Thomas. The family moved to Littleton, Colorado when he was four years old. They survived the 1965 South Platte River flood, although the house did not. After graduating from Littleton High School in 1976, John joined the Air Force. John served at Chanute AFB, Minot AFB, Cannon AFB, Torrejon AFB in Spain, and Lakenheath AFB in England. John married Jaye Sudar and they had four sons.

John and family returned from England in 1993 and moved to Walsenburg. John worked for City Auto and Alys’ Fireside Café for a brief while and then became a library assistant at the Huerfano County Library. He continued to work at the library, serving as Assistant Director and Network Administrator for over a decade. He was instrumental in the library’s reorganization into the Spanish Peaks Library District, and its later move to the refurbished Huerfano County High School. His accomplishments in expanding the library’s access to technology will continue to benefit Huerfano County for years to come.

In recent years, John was a leader in the founding of the Shire of Villaleon, the local chapter of the international medieval history club the Society for Creative Anachronism. His personal area of interest was Spain and the colonies of New Spain in the sixteenth century. Drawing on this shared love of history, he made friends around the world, including many other current and former service members in all branches of the US Armed Forces.

John is survived by his father Maurice Thomas, brother Wayne, and sisters, Jayne and Judy. His sons, Erin Thomas (Morgan), Stefan Thomas, Bryan Thomas (Katie), Daniel Thomas, and his ex wife, Jaye Sudar. Grandchildren Logan, Ewan, Kurt, Anabell, Faye, Celestial, Kouie, Gavin, Talon, and Raven. His fiancée, Beth Harper, and soon-to-be stepchildren Madison and Morgan. Numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and children of his heart.

He was interred with military honors at Ft. Logan National Cemetery in Denver on December 2nd and a memorial will be held at the Spanish Peaks Library on December 12th from 3-5pm.

Just When you think…

Posted on by jsudar

You might have a quiet moment…  Life throws you a curve ball.

Last Thursday we got a call that my ex, John Thomas, was seriously ill in hospital. At that point, they didn’t know what was going on with him. They thought that his cancer may have come back. They thought that the test might have scratched his esophagus. No. Finally, they discovered that he had a huge gallstone and his gallbladder was infected. The doctors tried everything. We were told that he had a 20% chance of making it through the night.

Friday, we went up to see him. The outlook was not good, and amidst tears, Dan and I said our goodbyes. Beth, his fiancee, my sons Bryan and Daniel, Angela, Sean and Hannah, and many SCA friends were there. All of us were doing our best to support Beth, and hope that John might pull a miracle and survive.

Dan and I left Pueblo after having dinner with Daniel and Angela. We drove home with heavy hearts, knowing deep down that we’d be getting a call. At 4am, Maddy called to tell us that John had passed. It was one of those terrible moments when you feel you should do something, and yet know there is nothing to do.

Today, we’ve been trying to figure out various bits and pieces. Who owns the house? (me, with mortgage). What do we need to do? When is the funeral? All those horrid chores that must be done. On top of that, over the weekend, we had a realization that as a common law couple, Beth had very few rights. They had planned to marry in August, at Battlemoor. Much of the support structure goes to the individuals with “legal” or familial rights. As John’s ex-wife, I had more rights, which was just wrong on so many levels.

My solution? A gofundme campaign to raise money to help Beth deal with all the financial needs. So, Have a Heart. Follow the link, and donate. Make me go “Whoa!” when I open my email and see all of the donations in the morning. Better yet, help Beth, who lost the man she loved.

juan2

Taking a deep breath

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We headed to Denver in snowy weather the last week of February, on our way to a CASB conference. (Colorado Association of School Boards) Two days of Legislative Updates on what our local state politicians are up to. It was a pretty good conference, and we had a lovely hotel. Of course, there was about 10 inches of snow that fell while we were there. Thursday night we went to a COCatalyst.org meeting which was different.

Friday, Dan went off to get the car so we could head home. What should have taken 15 minutes took forever. The doorman at the Brown Palace heard that there had been a couple of accidents because of the snow, and of course I panicked a bit. My phone was in the car, so I finally borrowed a phone to call Dan. He was alright, just. He had literally bounced from one accident to another. We finally headed out of Denver about 90 minutes later.

On the way home, the “fun” started. Dan was feeling worse and worse. By the time we got home, he was ill. We thought he’d eaten something bad. Nope. A very Nasty Virus. And of course, two days later, I got it. Ugh! I haven’t been ill like that in 15 years. All we did for the next week was sleep. I did everything possible via phone or email.

My first outing was a Celtic Music Festival meeting. Dan drove. I spent most of Sunday and Monday trying to recover and get back on my feet. I survived the school board meeting on Tuesday, shopping with my mom, and the Tech committee meeting on Wednesday.

In the middle of that meeting, I got a call from my mom. My Aunt Debbie had a stroke. Thursday was crazy. A new washer for my parents, my dad having a bad Alzheimer’s day and waiting to hear about my aunt. They did a lot of tests, and the decision was made to take her off of all the machinery today. If she lasts the night, they will move her to hospice. I know it may sound rather cold hearted, but I truly hope that she passes quickly. My mom went up with my sister Jill this afternoon to be with my cousin and sister. Dan and I are staying here to take care of Dad. Plus, Morgan is due home from college for Spring Break today. Oh, and one of my favourite authors passed away. RIP Terry Pratchett.

What a exhausting couple of weeks.

Whirling Dervish Practice.

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This week has been busy, crazy, hectic… and a few more adjectives.

Monday was almost quiet. Lots of errands.

Tuesday: Up and running and off to Denver, for a computer client. Home by midnight.

Wednesday: In the middle of a Google Hangout, Daniel called. He needed brought home from Cheyenne because Angela’s father was in hospital. Daniel wanted to get to see Frank before he died. So, I drove up to Cheyenne. Traffic was horrid both ways and in the midst of Denver rush hour traffic, we got a call from Hillary, Angela’s sister, that Frank had passed. When we got to Pueblo, we met with Angela and Daniel went home with her. I got home around 10pm.

Today was another long day. Errands in town, vacuuming my parent’s house and then off to Pueblo. Why? Well, besides getting a new windscreen for the truck, picking up some groceries and items from Target, Lowes and JoAnn’s Fabrics, I had a brand new granddaughter to see!

Raven Alexandra was born at 7:50:16 am, July 18th. (A day she shares with her Grandpa John, Nelson Mandela and John Glenn.) She weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces and is 20 inches long.

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We had dinner at Romero’s and then came home to collapse!