George H. Thomas

A funeral service will be held at 12:00 (noon) on Saturday, November 28 in the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1319 Main St., Fitchburg. A visitation period will be held from 10:00 until 12:00 (Noon) prior to the service in the church. Burial will be at Forest Hills Cemetery in Fitchburg. Face masks are required for all. The church building will be limited to 40% of capacity and both floors will be used for spacing and social distancing. The Brandon Funeral Home is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1319 Main St, Fitchburg, MA 01420.



George H. Thomas, 83 passed away on Sunday, November 22 at Heath Alliance Leominster Hospital. George was born on July 27, 1937 in Fitchburg, son of the late Haralambos and Thalia (Catches) Thomas. He is predeceased by his wife Angela “Angie” (Gianiou) Thomas, who passed in October, 2019. Mr. Thomas is survived by his daughter, Katherine Thomas, of Fitchburg, son Harry Thomas and his wife Sandra of Frontenac, MO and Plano, TX, grandchildren Luke Thomas of Plano, TX, Zachary Thomas of NYC, NY, Alexia Thomas of Dallas, TX, nephew John Krotsis and wife Janis of Groton, CT, nephew Jim Krotsis and wife Diane of New London, CT and sister-in-law Clara Krotsis of Waterford, CT. He also had several loved cousins in the Fitchburg, Keene, NH and Melbourne, Australia area, each with pride filled roots to the Epirus region of Greece. George and his family also have a number of lifelong dearest friends from Fitchburg and New London, CT. George was predeceased by his older brother Vaselios H. Thomas of Boca Raton, FL. Both Geroge and Vaselios lived the American dream. The family permanently immigrated to America via Ellis Island in 1936 with minimal education. They all worked hard and led a life of strong faith and family, which led both sons to be Fitchburg High School and college graduates. Vaselios graduated from Northeastern University in Chemical Engineering and worked internationally as a Chlor-Alkali Industry Expert. George started at University of Vermont and graduated from Fitchburg State University. He obtained his Master’s Degree plus 30 credits in the field of Education. For over 30 years George was a teacher in Leominster, Lancaster and Fitchburg, primarily in Elementary and Middle school in English, Writing, History and Music. George was the President of the Leominster Teacher’s Union in the 1970s and was a strong advocate for higher wages and benefits for those in the education field. For years, his cars had the same bumper sticker, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” The passion and profession of teaching was at his core and a most meaningful purpose. Mr. Thomas and his wife were owners of Pop’s Pizza and Papa George’s Chicken, both in Fitchburg, for a total of 20 years. George also was a licensed pilot, an avid skier, hunter and fisherman in his earlier years. His love for his three grandchildren rose to the pinnacle of his emotions and dreams in his later years. He took his first grandson up flying 10 years ago at the Fitchburg Airport and now Luke (“The Captain” as he would call him) is a commercial pilot for Republic Airlines. Zachary (“Z George the Professor”) works at Houlihan Lokey in NYC as an Investment Analyst. Alexia (Little Miss Texas) is now a Junior at SMU in Dallas, TX in Finance and Pre- Law. He was a life-long member of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Fitchburg. He lived next door and served as an altar boy as a child, sang in the choir throughout his life including 2020, and served on the Board of the Church a number of years while always supporting its ministries and causes. Mr. Thomas received the Ministry Award for his service to his faith in 2008 by Metropolitan Methodios.