Being recognized as one of Hans Thomas' children on the streets of Greensburg was quite a treat for his four young children.
Their father, owner of the Joseph Thomas Flower Shop, was a respected businessman devoted to his customers and the Greensburg community.
Hans Thomas, a resident of Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, died from complications of cancer on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002, in Westmoreland Regional Hospital, Greensburg. He was 81.
"My father had a great personality," said his daughter, JoAnn Harr, who often worked with her father at the store while she was still in school. "He was very social and very accommodating to his customers. He went out of his way to please them."
His daughter also recalled his commitment to the floral industry as a whole. Mr. Thomas not only held membership in the local FTD (Florists' Transworld Delivery), but had at one time served as a past national committee chairman of the FTD.
"Dad would travel to the FTD national headquarters at least once a month for meetings and to get abreast of what was going on in the industry," Harr said.
Born and raised in Hempfield Township, Mr. Thomas was the youngest of 14 children of the family of Joseph and Suzanne Clemens Thomas. The elder Thomas got his start in the floral industry by selling flowers at the Greensburg Train Station on Ehalt Street.
In 1895, Joseph Thomas opened his first floral shop on North Main Street, where all of his children would help after school and on weekends. He also built a greenhouse near his home.
"His children had a choice," Harr said. "They either worked in the shop in Greensburg or the greenhouse in Hempfield Township. It didn't matter, they all helped."
In 1940, following graduation from St. Vincent Prep School, near Latrobe, where he played football, Mr. Thomas decided to enlist in the Army for a year, his daughter said. "But World War II started and he stayed in the service for five years," Harr added.
Mr. Thomas eventually transferred to the Army Air Corps where, because of his athletic ability, he qualified as a calisthenics instructor, Harr said.
"Dad met Mom at a USO dance when he was stationed in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dad had a three-day pass and they were married at 8 a.m. on a cold bitter day in February 1944. They took a train to Minneapolis for their wedding trip."
Following his discharge at the end of 1945, Mr. Thomas brought his wife and baby daughter to his home in Greensburg and began his career as a florist.
In 1963, Mr. Thomas bought the business from the family and in 1974 moved it to a building on South Main Street, where he continued to work until he became ill.
"My brothers, sister and myself all worked with our Dad," Harr said. "He was tough to work for, but fair."
Highly regarded for his skill in raising flowers in their greenhouse, Mr. Thomas, prior to obtaining the family business, was also employed as a salesman for the Pittsburgh Cut Flower Co., in Pittsburgh's Strip District.
Mr. Thomas was a member of Blessed Sacrament Church, Greensburg, where he served on parish council; was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Council 1480; American Legion Post 344, Elks, St Vincent Alumni and Trout Unlimited.
"Dad worked hard for the Serra Club in going from school to school trying to recruit young men for the priesthood and young woman for the religious orders," Harr said. "He was generous in donating funds for charitable organizations. In recent years, he donated to groups trying to improve living conditions for native Americans living on reservations."
Mr. Thomas is survived by his wife, Patricia Fitzgerald Thomas; JoAnn Thomas Harr of Hempfield, Daniel Joseph Thomas of Greensburg, Patrick James Thomas of Hannahtown and Christine Thomas Hebrank of Jeannette; four grandchildren, Dr. Elizabeth Harr, Erin Thomas and Lauren and Gregory Hebrank; and a sister, Henrietta M. Thomas of Greensburg.
Prayers will be held at 12:30 p.m. today in the Clement L. Pantalone Funeral Home Inc., 409 W. Pittsburgh St., Greensburg, followed by a funeral mass in Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, Greensburg.
Interment will be in Greensburg Catholic Cemetery. If desired, memorial gifts may be made to St. Anne Home, 685 Angela Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601.
