Newton Arthur "Newt" Thomas

Other Events:

• Military: WW2 - Princess Louise Dragoon Guards
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-191377

Notes:

Lifetimes: Lawyer gave of time freely, generously helping people

Newton (Newt) Arthur Thomas of New Hamburg, born: Dec. 18, 1923 in Fort William (Thunder Bay), died: April 8, 2017 of old age

Newt Thomas started life as one of six kids raised in the wild and beautiful community of Thunder Bay, then known as Fort William. His mom was a nurse and his dad, also named Newton, was a pathologist with responsibility for all of Northern Ontario.

Their family's idyllic life in the north would end in tragedy when Newton senior died in a drowning accident in 1929. Newt was only five years old.

"For Newt it was a catastrophe," said his only surviving sibling, his sister Connie Klassen.

It was in fact a tragedy for the entire family.

"My father died, he was only 40 years old and my mother was left with six children," said Klassen.

Mildred Thomas decided to take her now fatherless kids back to her hometown, moving into the Laschinger homestead on the banks of the Nith River in New Hamburg. It would be on this river that Newt would hone a lifelong passion for fishing.....

Hill, V. (2017). Lifetimes: Lawyer gave of time freely, generously helping people | TheRecord.com. TheRecord.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017, from https://www.therecord.com/news-story/7490871-lifetimes-lawyer-gave-of-time-freely-generously-helping-people/

Military:
He enlisted with the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards in 1944 and was soon deployed overseas, becoming a member of the forces that eventually liberated Holland

Newton married Adriana Van Putten 26 Apr 1946, , Holland. Adriana was born 1927; died 2000; was buried , Riverside Cemetery, New Hamburg, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-191386