Edward O. Thomas, a former judge of Maryland's District Court as well as the Circuit Court for Worcester County, died March 20, 2012, at his home at Buckingham's Choice in Adamstown, Maryland, of congestive heart failure, following a long illness. He was 94. Judge Thomas was one of the first judges appointed to Maryland's newly-formed District Court, in 1971, serving under Robert Sweeney, the first Chief Judge of that court, hearing cases full time in Snow Hill and Ocean City. He was later appointed as Circuit Court judge of the First Judicial Circuit, in Worcester County, where he served until retiring in 1984. After relocating to Frederick County, Maryland, Judge Thomas continued to hear cases part-time, as a substitute Judge. Judge Thomas, known to friends and family as Ned, was born October 24, 1917, the eldest of two children born to Oscar B. and Josephine (Reindollar) Thomas. Ned Thomas attended Roland Park Country School, Roland Park Public School and Baltimore City College, from which he graduated in 1936, as class valedictorian. Following a brief stint working at his family's business, the Thomas and Thomas pharmacies, Ned attended The Johns Hopkins University, with a scholarship to cover the $300 tuition, which had been established at Baltimore City College to support a "scholarly gentleman." During his sophomore and junior years at JHU, Ned indulged a budding interest in art (which would later become a lifetime passion) by taking classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art. It was there that he met Katherine "Kitty" Merle-Smith, a Baltimore native who would become his wife 67 years later. Advised not to attempt to earn a living as a painter, Ned studied pre-law, at JHU and received his bachelor's degree in 1940. He immediately enrolled in the University of Maryland School of Law, but his legal education was cut short by his call to military service during the Second World War. Ned was commissioned in the Army Air Corps and served at airbases throughout the South, until the end of the war in 1945. After release from active duty Ned continued in the Air Force Reserve, retiring with the rank of Lt. Colonel. Following wartime service, Ned returned to the University of Maryland School of Law, where he received his law degree in 1948. He practiced law in Baltimore and later in Snow Hill until his appointment to the bench in 1971. In 1955 Ned married Alixandra Doupnik and became step-father to her two sons by her former marriage, Joe and Forrest. In the 1980s, the couple designed and built a retirement house Frederick County, and Ned retired from the bench in 1984. Alixandra died in November 1984. In retirement Ned pursued his lifelong interest in painting, and developed a new and special interest in sculpting using clay and bronze. He became an accomplished and respected painter and sculptor. His dynamic figure sculptures have attracted wide admiration: his bronze bust of founding District Court Chief Judge Robert Sweeney is permanently displayed in the offices of the state District Court in Annapolis, and a sculpture depicting Jesus' entry into Jerusalem can be seen in the Roland Park Presbyterian Church, in Baltimore. Ned later married Mary Ann McCosh, of Baltimore. The couple moved to Buckingham's Choice in Adamstown, Maryland, where they lived until her death 2002. In 2005, Ned married Katherine Merle-Smith whom he had first met at MICA, in 1938. Survivors include his wife Kitty, his stepson Forrest Russell Doupnik, his sister Mary Jo Campbell, his niece Carol Campbell Haislip, and nephews, Jim Campbell and Tod Campbell. A memorial service will be held at Roland Park Presbyterian Church at 10:30 am April 14, 2012. Condolences may be shared with the family at www.keeneybasford.com. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Honorable Edward O. Thomas Scholarship, which supports arts and science undergraduate students at Johns Hopkins. Please send checks made out to Johns Hopkins University, with Thomas Scholarship on the memo line. Mail to: Johns Hopkins University, Zanvyl Krieger School Office of External Affairs. 3400 N. Charles Street, Wyman Building, Suite 500W, Baltimore, Maryland 21218.
