Four Term LEUSD Board Member Tom Thomas Passes

Image and article by LEUSD

Tom Thomas, Trustee Area 5, passed away today, Thursday, June 18, after a brief illness. He was 66.

He was first appointed to LEUSD’s Board of Trustees in November 2004 to fill a vacancy by his predecessor, Vick Knight, who went on to the Riverside County Board Education. In late 2014, Mr. Thomas was beginning a fourth term of office when he fell ill.

Mr. Thomas was well known throughout the Valley as an energetic and dedicated servant leader. He served most recently as the executive director of Cops for Kids, Inc., a nonprofit organization under the auspices of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to assist disadvantaged children and senior citizens. He was past president of the Lake Elsinore Rotary Club, and a member of Rotary in Baja California, where he helped establish a school renovation and health clinic specializing in surgery for cleft palate. He proposed the City of Lake Elsinore’s Clean Extreme beautification day of service, which has become an annual community volunteer event. He also served as CEO of the Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce. He left no service opportunity unturned, putting much energy into bettering the community through action.

He was the General Manager of King Cable, and its cable TV franchise successors that served the Lake Elsinore Valley and Canyon Lake areas. Tom was instrumental in providing continuous live news coverage during Lake Elsinore’s historic lake flooding in the early ‘80s, and pioneering live cable TV coverage of Lake Elsinore City Council and Canyon Lake POA meetings.

Mr. Thomas has resided in the Lake Elsinore area for over 32 years. He is survived by wife, Dee, a retired LEUSD teacher, and son, Matthew, a graduate of LEUSD schools and a post-graduate of Sacramento State University.