James Hadland Thomas

TO VIEW JAMES' FUNERAL SERVICE LIVE PLEASE CLICK HERE

James Hadland Thomas, 89, passed away on April 11, 2025 in Logan, Utah.

He was born on January 9, 1936 to Grover and Pearl Thomas in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. He was raised in the small town of Glenwood. He was a happy and interesting boy. He was a devoted Boy Scout and became a Queen Scout. He attended a World Jamboree and was selected as one of two scouts in the province of Alberta to attend the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, a significant experience in his life which began his interest in travel. He played the saxophone in a band which provided music for dances all over the Cardston area. After graduating from Glenwood High School, he attended Utah State University. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in South Africa. Missionaries had an option to fly home or return by ship; he chose the latter and travelled up the east coast of Africa and visited Europe as well.

Once home, he returned to Utah State University pursuing a degree in Biology. Working with his dad in Glenwood during the summers, he met Marilyn Card at a dance and they were married in September of 1959. They had five children together: Douglas (Carol) Thomas, Shauna (Bruce) Crane, Michael (Candy) Thomas, Wendy (Matt) Vernon, and David (Ainsley) Thomas. They have 8 grandchildren and one great-grandchild with another on the way. Jim finished his Master's Degree, also at Utah State University in Agricultural Sciences. After teaching high school in Taber, Alberta, he received his PhD from the University of Alberta in Genetics. Several agronomy jobs took him to Manitoba and then Iowa.

His international experience began in 1969 when he returned to Utah State University for employment. His first assignment was in La Paz, Bolivia. Jim and Marilyn built a home in North Logan in 1972 and this served as a home base between other international assignments that included Iran, Bolivia a second time, Egypt, India, and Palestine. During the years when he was the director of International Programs at USU, he did short term consulting work in Benin, Somalia, Ecuador and other countries. At the end of his career at USU, he was the associate dean for the College of Agriculture. Jim participated in establishing two universities: the Arab American University in Jenin (AAUJ) and The American Campus (TAC) in Mauritius. All told, Jim lived in, or visited, over 150 countries. Marilyn and Jim served two missions together - one to the Puerto Rico mission and the other for the Humanitarian arm of the Church.

Service with Marilyn defined his life: to family, church, friends, community. His efforts to improve agricultural resources for the world's poor are included in that service. He was a long time member of the Lion's Club service organization, through which he led or participated in vision clinics, taking glasses to people in developing countries: Peru, Senegal, Cambodia. Jim and Marilyn truly made a difference in the world. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn, and a granddaughter, Robyn. We will miss him. The world is, and will be, better because of him.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday April 17 at 11:00am in the Allen-Hall Mortuary, 34 E Center St, Logan, UT with a visitation before the service from 930 - 10:30am. To continue his world service, contributions to the Heifer Project would be meaningful. www.heifer.org.

*Disclaimer: If for some reason the livestream of the Funeral Service does not work we will record the service and upload the video and/or audio recording at a later date.*