Michael Herbert Thomas was born on March 31, 1947 in Saint Louis, Missouri to Rev. Leroy Chadwick Thomas, Sr. and Lorene Marjorie (Ware) Thomas. The family moved to Ohio, eventually settling on Akron, where he graduated from Central Howe High School.

Michael was a gifted artist who had hoped to pursue a career in commercial art before life lured him in a different direction.

He attended Akron State University for two years before enlisting in the Navy and, afterward, in the Air Force. Upon completing his military service, he spent much of his career working in heating, refrigeration, and plumbing, and then as a truck driver, eventually returning to the home he purchase for his parents at 375 Cuyahoga Street in Akron.

Michael is predeceased by his parents and his brother Leroy Chadwick Thomas, Jr.

He is survived by his sister, Lorraine Marjorie (Thomas) Blancett of Cleveland, Ohio; his brother, Rev. Dr. Arnold Isidore Thomas of Underhill, Vermont (married to Victoria Anne Short); two nephews, Rev. Devon Lee Julian Thomas (married to Chelsea Fleury) of Georgia, Vermont; Ethan Eliot Thomas of New York, New York; a niece, Adria Anne Thomas of Boscawen, New Hampshire; a grandniece, Emmalynn Fleury Tatro; and a grandnephew, Jackson Fleury Thomas, along with numerous cousins.

Michael Herbert Thomas, child of God, we mourn your passing yet celebrate your life and return to the eternal embrace of your Creator.