Rev. Dr. Richard H Thomas passed away Monday, April 24, in Cedar Rapids.
Thomas impact to the community of Mount Vernon and Cornell College was immeasurable.
“It is difficult to imagine Cornell without Rev. Thomas. He was an active part of our campus community for over 50 years, making major contributions as historian, professor, chaplain, and friend to many. This is a huge loss for the Cornell community,” said President Jonathan Brand.
It was Thomas who headed the extensive research and application that placed the entire Cornell campus on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
“It would be impossible to overstate the importance of Rev Thomas to historic preservation in Mount Vernon and in the State of Iowa,” said Suzette Astley, president of the Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission. “I went to a conference in Benton County last Spring, and two to three people there asked me about him.”
Rev. Thomas was honored by the Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission last fall. This statement came form that ceremony.
“In 1986, after he was instrumental in the creation of the Cornell College Historic District, Dick Thomas was asked by the City of Mount Vernon to lay the foundation for a Historic Preservation Commission. Dick did that, and much more. He was the Commission’s first Chair. He did an extensive study that resulted in the Ash Park Historic District. He was also instrumental in creating the Commercial Historic District. He obtained many, many grants for the work of the Commission. Longtime community members will remember his talks at the many Pleasures of Porches tours that showcased this important feature of vintage homes in Mount Vernon.
“On May 23, 2022 a delegation from the Historic Preservation Commission went to Cottage Grove Place to present Dick with a well-earned Certificate of Appreciation. And as a lasting tribute, a Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Award was named in Dick’s honor and it was given to an outstanding preservation project (for a porch remodeling, of course!) for the first time in October of 2022.”
He and his family came to Mount Vernon in 1967 when he accepted a dual appointment as chaplain and professor of history at Cornell College, Mount Vernon.
Known affectionately as ‘Rev Thomas,’ he was a tireless advocate for connecting the college and higher education experience to the greater community. He developed courses on federal American Indian policy, the internment of Japanese Americans, and Midwest architecture. He retired from full-time teaching in 2005.
His influence spread far beyond the Cornell campus. He served in leadership roles for Mount Vernon and Linn County’s Historic Preservation Commissions, and the Iowa State Historical Society, chairing its effort to restore Terrace Hill, the Iowa Governor’s Mansion. He was a part of separate efforts to interpret sites along the Lincoln Highway (old Highway 30), and numerous other efforts to interpret and celebrate cultural heritage.
He grew up in South Dakota, graduated from Macalester College, earned an M.Div. from Garrett Evangelical Seminary, and held master’s and doctoral degrees from Rutgers. His Ph.D. in U.S. history with a specialization in the social dimension of architecture began a lifelong teaching and research interest.
He and his wife Nancy were married June 16, 1955. He entered the US Air Force as a chaplain shortly thereafter, and then served as a Wesley Foundation chaplain at Princeton University, simultaneously pursuing graduate studies in history at The Rutgers University, where he earned master’s and doctoral degrees. Throughout his career, he remained active in the US Air Force Reserves, retiring with the rank of colonel.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 68 years, Nancy, two daughters, Ellen Thomas and Cornell trustee Jan Thomas ’80 (Gary Doernhoefer), a son, John Thomas (Melissa Thomas), and five grandchildren, Eric Doernhoefer ’13, Liz Doernhoefer, Anthony Thomas Zavin, Matthew Thomas, and Lauren Thomas. In 2013 his children endowed the Richard H. Thomas History Scholar Award for Off-Campus Research.
A service will be held at a later date.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Richard H. Thomas History Scholar Award at Cornell College, the Cornell Fund, Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, or the Iowa State Historical Society.