Curtis (Curt) D. Thomas, Jr. (79) entered into the gates of heaven where his faith became sight on Tuesday, December 26, 2017. Curt was born April 19, 1938, in Detroit, Michigan, and moved to St. Petersburg in August 1964, from Dallas, Pennsylvania.

Curt had a personal relationship with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and was a member of First Baptist Church at The Villages where he served as a deacon and on the Building Committee. While living in the Tampa Bay area, he was a member of Northside Baptist Church (St. Petersburg) and later First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks.

Curt met the love of his life while attending Beaver Falls High School. Following graduation they married and moved to State College where he attended Penn State University. Curt entered the life insurance business which later moved his family to Florida. He was a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and member of the Million Dollar Roundtable.

Twenty years later he pursued his true passion of helping others and entered the non-profit business sector. Through his leadership, many lives were touched…if not changed.

• Young Women's Residence
• Northside Christian Schools (Executive Director) and Northside Baptist Church (Director of Operations). Curt was instrumental in the planning and opening of Northside Christian School.
• All Children's Hospital (Planned Giving Director)
• PARC (President/CEO) – 14 years, Retired 2006
• American Cancer Society (Director of Estate Planning) – 11 years, Retired 2017

Curt was an active leader not just in business, but also in the community.

A 53-year member of Civitan International, Curt served in just about every office from club, district and state levels to the highest office of International President. Awards are too numerous to mention, most notably International Honor Key and Civitan International Fellow.  He founded the President's Council which ensured funding for Civitan's flagship project – The UAB Civitan International Research Center located in Birmingham, Alabama. The research center is dedicated solely to research of developmental disabilities.

Additional Memberships:

Association for Fundraising Professionals, Past President of Suncoast Chapter

National Committee on Planned Giving, a founder and past President of Tampa Bay Chapter

Suncoast Estate Planning Council, a founder and past member of Board of Directors

St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, past Vice President

Florida Assn. of Rehabilitation Facilities, past Vice President

WorkNet Pinellas, Board of Directors

Suncoasters of St. Petersburg

Villages Community Development, District 6

DevCorps International, Crisis Management Team

Rotary International

Graduate Leadership St. Pete Class of 1978

Leadership St. Pete Planning Committee Chair (1982)

Leadership St. Pete Alumni Association, President (1986-87)

Graduate of Leadership Tampa Bay, Class of 1988

St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors

St. Pete Chamber Beautification Committee Chair

First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks –Missions Committee Chairman

Additional Honors/Designations:

Paul L. Getting Chamber Member of the Year 1981-82

Certified Church Business Administrator

Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU)

Curt's pride and joy was his family. He enjoyed volunteering within the community and travelling, especially summer trips to Wyoming and Sanibel Island.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Curtis D. Thomas, Sr. and Helen Elizabeth Hassel Thomas and his grandson, Christopher Herring.

Curt is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Margaret (Peggy) Cozadd Thomas; three daughters,  Barb Thomas, Tracy Chastain (Joel) and Susan Kubler (Louis); seven grandchildren Faith Chastain Lyons (Brian), Jennifer Chastain Kaaber (Brad), Michael T. Herring, Kaylee Chastain  Evans (Grant), Joel C. Chastain, Daniel Kubler and Cherie Kubler; and four great-grandchildren. Curt is also survived by his brother, Richard S. Thomas (Ann) of Pittsburgh, PA

In lieu of flowers, the family requests you consider donating in Curt's memory to one of the charities close to his heart:

American Cancer Society

https://donate3.cancer.org

PARC

https://www.parc-fl.org

First Baptist Church at The Villages

ATTN: Building Fund

http://fbcvillages.org

Or, if you prefer, donate to a charity you are passionate about.

Two Celebration of Life services are scheduled are as follows:

January 2, 2018                 First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks (Worship Center)

12685 Ulmerton Road, Largo Florida

1:00 – Visitation with family

2:00 -  Service

NOTE: The service will be streamed live January 2nd, 2018 at 2:00 EST. for the benefit of family and friends around the world.
Active link: https://livestream.com/accounts/16500935/events/7993736/player

January 3, 2018                 First Baptist Church at The Villages (Worship Center)

16985 SE 79 ^th Clearview Ave., The Villages, FL

11:00 am – Service