By Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
HIGHTSTOWN Dr. Edgar Thomas had an uncanny gift for remembering names, and now many say they will never forget his.
A man who viewed being an educator as a “higher calling” and even a “priesthood,” while devoting more than 40 years to the East Windsor Regional School District, Dr. Thomas died Feb. 17 at his daughter’s borough home. The 81-year-old Hightstown resident was surrounded by his family.
”He lived his life by the belief that service was the price we pay for our space on earth,” said his daughters, Elizabeth Jackson and Pam Screws, in an e-mail. “He gave freely of his time. Through everything he did, he treated everyone he met with the same consideration and respect.”
Dr. Thomas came to the East Windsor school district in the 1950s as a music teacher. Over his career he moved up through the district, becoming a principal and finally superintendent in 1980, a position from which he retired in 1992.
Before becoming superintendent, Dr. Thomas was the principal of the Melvin Kreps School. Pat Brown became his vice principal at the school in 1976 and said he had a unique connection with the students.
”We had about 1,600 students in the school,” she said. “I would walk down the hall with him and kids would just come up and hug him. What was really interesting was that no matter who it was he could call them by their name and ask them something specific about their lives.
”He was without a doubt one of the most kind, caring, ethical and responsible people that I have ever met,” she said.
Dr. Thomas also held several positions at the Westminster Choir College. An accomplished singer and musician, he played many instruments, including the trumpet.
Pat Bohrs was a student in Dr. Thomas’ band classes in his early days with the school district. She said she was inspired by him to become a music teacher, and eventually returned to the district as an elementary school music teacher.
”He was my mentor,” Ms. Bohrs said. “His classes were wonderful. He was an inspiration. The kindest and the gentlest person; so different than how teachers are with students these days.”
Ms. Bohrs said when she was getting ready to go to college, Dr. Thomas drove her and another student to Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., where Ms. Bohrs had a clarinet tryout. She said he always put in extra effort, and even reached out to kids falling in with the wrong crowd to get them into the band.
”There are so many people out there who can say ‘Boy, if it wasn’t for Dr. Thomas,’” she said. “He inspired so many kids. He really took them under his wing.”
Vaughn Urstadt, another music student of Dr. Thomas, expressed a similar sentiment.
”He cared about the kids, and never forgot them,” she[sru: yes, she. : ][vmo: cq: ] said. “You would run into him on the street and he would know your name.
Dr. Thomas’ daughters and his co-workers said he didn’t think of educating as just a job. They said he would often refer to it as a “higher calling” and a “priesthood,” because his commitment ran so deep.
Ms. Jackson and Ms. Screws said that commitment didn’t end when students graduated. They said their father would keep in touch with many graduates even after he retired.
”His commitment to the students went well beyond the physical confines of the schoolhouse,” they wrote.
Former East Windsor Regional teacher Ken Boardman said Dr. Thomas was a “giant of a person” and “one of the smartest persons I have ever met.”
”He represented all the terrific qualities of a person and an educator,” he added.
David Coates, a local attorney who serves as counsel to the Board of Education, described Dr. Thomas as a “learned gentleman” who had a wide range of knowledge.
”He was curious about the world that he was in,” Mr. Coates said. “He was the kind of person that you would hope a good education would produce.”
A graduate of West Chester University, Dr. Thomas also held a master’s degree in school administration and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Rutgers University.
Mr. Boardman said he and other teachers were always amazed by the fact that Dr. Thomas as superintendent would record his “cabinet meetings,” and then listen to them back at 1.5 times the speed of the recording to save time.
”We all just thought, ‘Wow,’” Mr. Boardman said.
In addition to being an expert on his students, Dr. Thomas made it a point to always continue learning about many subjects. His friends and family said he was especially fond of history.
”He was a wealth of information on almost anything,” Ms. Brown said. “He often made his points through analogies or historical references. He was a great communicator and you got his points very quickly.”
In addition to his work with the schools, Dr. Thomas also served as a bandsman in the Army Air Corps, an ordained elder and choirmaster at the First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown, chairman of the Hightstown-East Windsor 250th Anniversary Celebration, founder and conductor of the Hightstown-East Windsor Community Band and as a trustee of the Hightstown-East Windsor Historical Society, among many other volunteer activities.
He was predeceased by his first wife, June Thomas, and is survived by his wife, Clara Thomas; and daughters, Ms. Jackson, Ms. Screws and Suzanne Hutchinson of Alabaster, Ala.
Gene Sarafin, a former school board member, said the community is a better place for him having been a big part of it.
”May the memory of his footprints through our Hightstown-East Windsor community never fade for us and even for those that did not know him,” he wrote. “A mighty tree has fallen as all trees do, but the remembrances of this great one remain with all of us.”
Ms. Brown added: “If there were more people like Edgar Thomas, the world would be a much better place. He always did everything with compassion.”

