Paul Michael Thomas, 67, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, passed away unexpectedly on August 24, 2024. Paul was born in Baltimore Maryland to his parents Frederick S. Thomas, Sr. and Ruth Thomas (Grafton) and grew up at his family’s home in Fallston, Maryland. Fallston was a fairly, sparse rural community. He along with his two brothers and the two next door brothers spent many hours playing outside doing what boys do.

Given the rural nature of the neighborhood, when not playing outdoors, we turned to TV. One of the big shows back then was Green Acres and the star of the show was the Ziffel’s quasi-talking pet pig, Arnold. Paul would sit in front the TV religiously and every time Arnold came on and let out his signature “oink”, Paul would follow suit and perform the perfect pig grunt.

During his early years, Paul grew up in the congregation of Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Kingsville, Maryland. He was baptized and confirmed there as well as attending the church school through sixth grade. He then went to Bel Air Middle and High Schools, graduating in 1975 along with one of their largest classes ever, totaling over 700 students.

Paul briefly worked at his father’s construction business after graduation but found his niche as an auto mechanic working for Auto Village and Heritage Oldsmobile and Cadillac for over 25 years. He was generally regarded as one of the best mechanics around who could diagnose and fix anything. He was highly admired by his coworkers and was given the nickname,” The Breeze” , partially because of how good he was at his craft.

On the personal side, Paul met the love of his life, Nancy Penrod, and they were married on September 16, 1982. Following the wedding, quite a fun reception was held at the American Legion in Bel Air. After a few years in Riverside, they eventually moved to Forest Hill.  But apparently the beach environs at Myrtle Beach got their blood stirring, and after owning a vacation condo there for years, they eventually wound up buying a house in Myrtle Beach and relocating permanently. In all their homes they created a loving atmosphere for all the wonderful cats and dogs they eventually had, the most recent being the sweet Bella.

Paul was an adventurous, outdoor type. He loved tinkering with and driving race cars, riding his Harley, boating, crabbing, and working a part time landscape business for years. In his later years, he became a little more sedentary, enjoying a cigar and beverage of his choice on the front porch.

Paul is survived by his wife, Nancy, brothers Frederick, Jr., Stephen and his wife Laurie. He also had numerous nieces and nephews, Melissa, Shannon, Jennifer, Jillian, Emma, Benjamin, Alec and Jillian. He was predeceased by his parents Frederick S. Thomas, Sr. and Ruth Grafton Thomas

A Celebration of life will occur at a future date., individually, for both his South Carolina and Maryland families and friends.   As a remembrance, donations may be made in memory of Paul to: Grand Strand Humane Society, 3241 Mr. Joe White Avenue, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29577