A Celebration of Life for Will Thomas will be held on Oct. 26

In Remembrance of William F. Thomas

William (Will) F. Thomas was born on July 21, 1958, in Fort Worth, TX and died on September 22, 2026. His life was shaped by curiosity, service, family, teaching, a bit of whimsy, and a deep delight in the world around him.

Will grew up in a family where service was a way of life. His father, Bill, served in the Air Force as a flight navigator. His mother, Bernie, was an occupational therapist who worked in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, helping wounded veterans and, later, children and teens rebuild their lives. His parents instilled in Will and his siblings a strong sense of duty and habit of giving back. Bill’s engineering and management career advanced at Union Carbide and Martin Marietta, requiring several moves. Will attended junior high and high school in Florence, South Carolinaand chose Wofford College, where he graduated summa cum laude. He earned his doctorate in business at UNC-Chapel Hill with a focus on accounting and financial econometrics.

From childhood, Will was curious and eager to learn. He discovered an early love of bicycles and eventually expanded his repertoire to include unicycles and an old-fashioned big-wheel bicycle. That playful curiosity stayed with him throughout his life. He was a lifelong learner who was always interested in discovering something new and sharing what he learned with others.

His commitment to service grew from his parents' example. Throughout his life, Will volunteered in his children's schools, served on nonprofit committees and boards, built houses with Habitat for Humanity, served as Finance Director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, worked with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility representing Church of the Brethren, taught countless people to swim, coached teams, and officiated at swim meets at the local, state, and national level. Will found many ways to make his communities better.

His academic career reflected that same commitment to service. As a professor of Accounting, he cared deeply about both his subject and the people who came to him to learn it. He understood that students were whole people with families, jobs, responsibilities, and lives beyond the classroom. He supported them as they navigated academics alongside their other priorities, and he believed that education was not simply about transmitting knowledge but about preparing students to have the judgment and people skills needed to be successful.

Theater became another important part of Will’s life. He met his wife, Candace, through theater while they were in college. He acted in several plays and believed that his experience in theater made him a better communicator and teacher.

Family was at the center of his life. He was a loving husband to Candace; father to Maggie, Adam, and Anna; father-in-law to Emily and Seth, and grandfather (a.k.a. Woo) to Chloe, Zoe, Cameron, and Sydney. He took joy in sharing interests with the people he loved and in encouraging them to explore those things that made them curious.

Will was, above all, a lifelong learner. His curiosity extended far beyond his academic field. In later years, he devoted much of his volunteer time to conservation and to teaching people of all ages about the natural world. After the death of his son, Adam, this work became especially meaningful to him.

He loved teaching people about insects, but his enthusiasm for the natural world had no narrow boundaries. He was fascinated by bears, wolves, and elephants; by geology and photography;and by the remarkable variety of life that can be found almost anywhere when someone takes the time to look closely. He shared that sense of wonder generously, encouraging others to notice, learn, explore, and care for the places they inhabit.

Will leaves behind not only his family and friends, but also generations of students, colleagues, swimmers, volunteers, young people, fellow naturalists, and others whose lives were touched by his teaching and example.

The details of a life can be measured in degrees earned, jobs held, organizations served, miles traveled, and projects completed. But Will's life is perhaps better measured in people: the students he encouraged, the children he coached, the swimmers he taught, the homes he helped build, the communities he strengthened, and the people he inspired to look more carefully at the world.

Will's curiosity never diminished. He believed that there was always something more to learn, someone who could use a helping hand, and some corner of the world worth caring for.

Will was generous with his time. He encouraged people. Whether he was teaching a student, exploring a wild place, or simply sharing his enthusiasm for something new, Will brought this same fundamental belief: that the world, and the people in it, are worth understanding, and that we all have a responsibility to leave it a little better than we found it.

That legacy will continue in the people he taught, the communities he served, the family he loved, and the natural world he worked so hard to understand and protect. He will be deeply missed by the many people whose lives he touched.