By: Nick D’Amore
Cranbury lost a lifelong resident and one of its most active members Sunday when Stanley Thomas, 54, died at his Cranbury home.
Many of those who worked with Mr. Thomas in the Cranbury Lions Club or Boy Scout Troop 52 remember him has a "can-do" individual who was always ready and willing to help.
"Stan was a great Lion and a better human being and will be missed," wrote Bob Virgadamo, president of the Lions, in their newsletter.
"That’s my tribute to him," he said.
Mr. Thomas was born in Princeton and lived in Cranbury his entire life. He served in the Vietnam War in the Navy, where he served aboard the USS America.
He was a Boy Scout leader for Troop 52 of Cranbury and had been involved with Scouting for many years. A very active member of the Cranbury Lions Club since 1980, he had served as president in 1987-1988, was Lion of the Year in 1990-1991, zoning chairman from 1987 to 1991, deputy district governor in 1991-1992 and was currently a board member, as he had been for many years. Mr. Thomas was the co-chair for White Cane and Cranbury Day and was the liaison to the Scouting organizations in Cranbury.
Jerry Yochelson, a member of Troop 52, had warm memories of Scout events that he and Mr. Thomas enjoyed together.
"I know him as a Scout troop leader. We went on hikes, camped out. I always enjoyed sharing those times with him and I’ll miss having those events. He really did participate, he was a member of the Scouts for a long time," said Mr. Yochelson.
Mr. Yochelson remembers one such trip where the two took a spontaneous dunk in the water.
"One canoe trip, in particular, our canoe hit a log and we both went overboard," he said. "He was very good-natured, we just dried ourselves and our supper off and went on our way."
Mr. Yochelson also remembered Mr. Thomas to be extremely helpful and unselfish.
"He was always ready to help out to make events happen. He’s just a fellow I considered a friend and I will miss him," said Mr. Yochelson.
Thomas Reilly, former president of the Lions, offered a similar description of Mr. Thomas, saying, "he was the kind of guy I wanted on my team."
"You can’t fill his shoes, he had so many projects going on," he said.
One of these projects was the upcoming Cranbury Day event, scheduled for Saturday.
"We had to get people right away to help fill that void. We’re trying to do what he was doing to make sure Cranbury Day goes over well," said Mr. Reilly.
Mr. Reilly also described Mr. Thomas as a quiet man who rarely got angry. "He was never really boisterous. We never saw him get angry. He just did his job and didn’t want any pats on the back. It was part of the Lions and that’s what he wanted to do," he said.
Mr. Thomas also had a great love for his hometown, said Mr. Reilly.
He said the Lions are planning on starting a memorial fund in Mr. Thomas’ name to be used in the township.
Mr. Reilly said Mr. Thomas was also very active in the Lions annual Golf Outing.
Walt Caldwell, committee chairman for the golf outing, said Mr. Thomas was the first person he met when he moved to Cranbury in 1981.
"My son was involved with Scouting and I got involved as an assistant Scout master," said Mr. Caldwell. "I worked with Stan a lot on camping trips. He was a fellow who got respect from the boys, as well as the adults."
Mr. Caldwell said Mr. Thomas was a "model Cranbury citizen" that did a lot of work for the town behind the scenes.
"There’s probably some people that didn’t know him, but Cranbury is going to miss him," he said.
Mr. Caldwell said he will also miss Mr. Thomas on a personal level. The two had gone on fishing trips together in the past.
"He was very mild-mannered and didn’t expect any accolades," said Mr. Caldwell.
Committeeman Greg Overstreet said he’d known Mr. Thomas for 14 years, since he moved next door to him.
"He was a man a few words and many deeds," he said.
Mr. Overstreet also remembers Mr. Thomas’ contribution to the scouts and the Lions.
"He was a person who, if he was not chair of an event, would still help set up before and clean up after it," he said.
Mr. Overstreet described Mr. Thomas as similar in demeanor to the actor William Holden.
"Stan could remind you of William Holden: an even-tempered, plain-talking, straight-forward guy," he said.
Mr. Thomas is survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Sarah T. and Gary L. Stines of Hamilton; two aunts and an uncle, Anne Wagner, Katherine Schenck and Lewis H. Schenck, all of Freehold; three cousins, Katherine Kregg of Sea Girt, Janet Shikoluk of Brick and Richard Schenck of Chazy, N.Y.; and five step-cousins.
Funeral services will be held today (Friday) at 10:30 a.m. at A.S. Cole Son & Co. Funeral Home, 22 N. Main St., Cranbury, officiated by the Rev. Douglas Dent of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury. Burial will be in Brainerd Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to Boy Scout Troop 52, 3 North Main St., Cranbury 08512; or to the Cranbury Lions Club, P.O. Box 365, Cranbury 08512.

