William Henry Thomas ’52
William Henry Thomas ’52, M.D., of Brookline, Massachusetts, passed away November 18, 2011, after a short battle with cancer. Bill grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Lookout Mountain. He attended McCallie School, Choate School, Dartmouth, Dartmouth Medical School (’59) and Harvard Medical School. At Dartmouth Bill was a chemistry-zoology major and a Rufus Choate Scholar. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. His academic career was punctuated by a departure from Dartmouth when he qualified for the naval aviation cadet program at the start of his junior year. After four years of service as a dive bomber pilot and jet instrument instructor he returned to Dartmouth with his sights set on becoming a physician. Bill’s medical career spanned nearly 35 years dedicated to orthopedic surgery, during which time he made numerous contributions to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and the advancement of total joint replacement. He retired from the Brigham and Woman’s Hospital and the Brigham Orthopedic Association in Boston in 1998. In his retirement Bill renewed his passion for flying and was an active member of the southwest Florida Civil Air patrol. He and his wife, Dickey, were also very committed to the environment and wildlife conservation. They divided their time between their home in the Boston area and southwest Florida. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Dickey; daughters Annie and Susan and her husband, Morris; and four grandchildren.
