Lester "Les" James Thoma

Les Thoma, 79, of Hillsboro, MO died peacefully at home with his family on November 2, 2022. He was born in Chicago, IL on February 23, 1943, the son of Joseph and Agnes (Artmann) Thoma.

Les moved to St. Louis in 1945 and graduated from Cleveland High School, class of 1961.  He served in the Army National Guard from 1962 - 1968.  He met Mary in 1960 and they married in 1964.  Mary and Les celebrated their 58th anniversary on October 3rd. 

Les was a loyal employee for two companies, General Electric as an electrician and Chrysler as a robotics welder repairman.  He retired as a UAW member from the Chrysler Fenton plant in June 2007.  Les was a Fourth Degree Knight with the Knights of Columbus, Council 6401, as a member of Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Hillsboro, MO.

Surviving, in addition to his wife, Mary Jo (Buechter) are his daughter Lisa Keating and her husband Paul of Hillsboro, MO; son, Dan and his wife Lori of Edwardsville, IL; son Chip and his wife Angie of Imperial, MO; eight grandchildren, Sarah (Saim), Andrew (Kayla), Nick (Ashtin), Kayanna (Luke), Melissa, Rebecca, Matthew, Brandon (Christina); thirteen great-grandchildren; Alex, Jacob (Maddie), Adelina, Nora, Sophia, Avery, Jameson, Sutton, Jordan, Milo, Amora, Maria, Rosalia; brother, Len and his wife Cheryl of St. Louis; many nieces, nephews, and friends.    

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a great-grandson, Albert.

Visitation: Friday, November 4, 2022, from 4 to 8 pm at Robert D. Brown Funeral Home.

Morning Prayers: Saturday, November 5, 2022, at 9:15 AM in the funeral home chapel.

Funeral: Saturday, November 5, 2022 10:00 AM  Good Shepherd Catholic Church

Burial: Good Shepherd Catholic Cemetery in Hillsboro, Missouri

In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Vincent DePaul would be greatly appreciated.