In Remembrance: Randolph Thomas ’74MFA Died on February 24 2021

On Friday, February 24, 2021, Randolph Thomas passed away at the age of 71 in the town of Dumfries, located in Prince Williams County in northern Virginia. 

Randolph was born March 2, 1949, in Norfolk County (Chesapeake), Virginia. He and his twin brother Rudolph were the youngest of a family of five boys born to Luther Cornelius Thomas Sr. and Verona Helen Thomas. He graduated from Crestwood High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, obtained a BA degree from Norfolk State University, and earned a master’s degree in fine arts from Yale University. He had two distinct careers: one as an employee of the US Department of the Army as a magazine illustrator and the other with the Northrop Grumman Corporation as a computer systems specialist. 

As an artist, Randoph’s passion was drawing, studying the works of other artists, and visiting museums. His hobbies included frequent visits to the family homestead in Chesapeake, Virginia, to do work on the home’s large backyard and garden, various house repairs, collecting pictures of the extended family, and researching family history in local courthouses and on Ancestry.com. He was a loyal and loving family member with a great sense of humor and a person you counted on in times of need. 

Randolph was preceded in death by his father, Luther, his mother, Verona, and his brother, Arthur Lee. He is survived by his older brothers Luther and Johnnie and his twin brother, Rudolph; his aunt Bessie Brown; and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins.  

—Submitted by the family.