Orville W. Thomas

Orville W. Thomas, 94, of La Junta passed away on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at the Bent County Memorial Nursing Care Center. Visitation will be held on Friday, July 24th from 5 – 7 p.m. at Peacock Memorial Chapel. Funeral services will be Saturday, July 25th at 10 a.m. at Peacock Memorial Chapel with Reverend Brian Williams of the First Church of the Nazarene officiating. Internment will follow at the Fairview cemetery.
Orville was born on October 6, 1914 in Clinton, Oklahoma to Walter W. & Mary Jane (Porter) Thomas Gilbert. He married Dorothy Mae Brown on October 1, 1937 in Telluride, Colorado.
Orville’s family came by covered wagon from Higgins, Texas to Rocky Ford when he was five years old. He attended school in Rocky Ford. He met the love of his life Dorothy Mae Brown in Norwood, CO where he was working with her brother at the Civilian Conservation Camps during the depression.
He worked as a machinist for the Santa Fe Railroad and retired in 1975.
Orville loved to go fishing, hunting, and his passion was to play his guitar. He played guitar for the Old Time Rhythm Band, which played at the La Junta Senior Citizens Center for the jamborees and dances for many years. For 25 years on Tuesdays you could find Orville and his band playing at a nursing home in La Junta, Rocky Ford, Fowler, Ordway, or Las Animas. He continued to entertain for the local nursing homes until his 90th birthday and he still played even when he became a resident himself.
He was a member of the RSVP for 25 years and was honored for his volunteer work at the area nursing homes. He also belonged to the Holbrook Sports man club and helped sponsor many of the Kid’s Fishing Derbies. He was elected the Arkansas Valley Silver King in 2002 and attended the First Church of the Nazarene in La Junta.
He is survived by his, wife, Dorothy of the La Junta home; daughters, Melvina (Tom) Skinner of Cheraw; Loretta (Abbas) Mirakhor; Dorothy (Larry) Eckhart, and Joyce Thomas all of La Junta; brother, Jess Thomas of Phoenix, AZ; sister-in-law, Zella Wilder of Rocky Ford; grandchildren Deborah (Scott) Howard of Rio Rancho, NM; Tom (Tracy) Skinner, Jr. of Parker, CO; Cyrus Mirakor of Westwood, CA; Hassan (Diana) Mirakhor of La Junta; Scott (Norma) Eckhart of La Junta; Crystal (Scott) Cuckow of Las Animas; great-grandchildren, Brandon Manahan of Bakersfield, CA; David, Madey, Adrey, and Haley Eckhart all of La Junta; Thomas and Keane Skinner of Parker, CO; Madison, McKinna and Benjamin Cuckow of Las Animas.
He is preceded in death by his mother and father, brothers, Riley & Dan Thomas and Charles Gilbert; sisters, Dora Lee Walker & Grace Forgays; grandson, Jerald Lee Skinner.
Those wishing to do so may make memorial contributions to Bent County Healthcare Center, Memorial Gardens Fund; Arkansas Valley Hospice Association, PO Box 408, La Junta, CO, 81050 or to the Ark Valley Community Center, P.O. Box 1130, La Junta, CO, 81050 direct or through the funeral home.
Online condolences may be made at www.peacock-larsen.com. Peacock-Larsen Funeral Home & Arkansas Valley Crematory is in charge of arrangements.