- ADAMSTOWN, Md. - Edward O. Thomas, a former judge of Maryland's District Court and Circuit Court, died Tuesday, March 20, 2012, at his home in Adamstown, following a long illness. He was 94.
Judge Thomas was one of the first judges appointed to Maryland's new District Court in 1971, serving under Robert Sweeney, first chief judge of that court, hearing cases 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, Md., judge Thomas continued to hear cases part-time as a substitute judge.
Judge Thomas, known to friends and family as Ned, was born Oct. 24, 1917, the eldest of two children born to Oscar B. and Josephine Reindollar Thomas. Ned studied pre-law at Johns Hopkins University, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1940. He enrolled in the University of Maryland School of Law, but his legal education was cut short by military service during World War II. Ned was commissioned in the Army Air Corps and served at bases in the South until the war ended in 1945. After the war, he continued in the Air Force Reserve, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. After 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 1955, Ned married Alixandra Doupnik. In the 1980s, the couple designed and built a retirement home in Frederick County, and Ned retired from the bench in 1984. Alixandra Thomas died in 1984.
In retirement, Ned pursued his lifelong interest in painting and developed a special interest in sculpture. His dynamic figure sculptures have attracted wide admiration. A bronze bust of founding District Court Chief Judge Robert Sweeney is displayed at the state District Court in Annapolis.
Ned later married Mary Ann McCosh of Baltimore. The couple moved to Adamstown and lived there until her death in 2002. In 2005, Ned married Katherine "Kitty" Merle-Smith, whom he had first met at the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1938.
Survivors include his wife, Kitty; sister, Mary Jo Campbell; stepson, Forrest Doupnik; niece, Carol Campbell Haislip; and nephews, Jim Campbell and Tod Campbell.
A memorial service will be held at Buckingham's Choice in Adamstown on a date to be announced and also at Roland Park Presbyterian Church in Baltimore on April 14 at 10:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Hon. Edward O. Thomas Scholarship, supporting arts and science undergraduate students at Johns Hopkins. Contributions may be made to Johns Hopkins University, with Thomas Scholarship on the check memo line, mailed to Johns Hopkins University, Zanvyl Krieger School Office of External Affairs, 3400 N. Charles St., Wyman Building, Suite 500W, Baltimore, Md. 21218.
Condolences may be shared with the family at www.keeneybasford.com.
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1917 - 2012 (94 years)