Gerard “Bud” Thomas

Gerard “Bud” Thomas passed away peacefully on July 25, 2013. He was born on September 30, 1929 in Manhasset, NY, the younger of two boys. Bud earned his master’s degree at
Syracuse University in Forest Entomology in 1955.
His post-graduate studies and first job with the U.S. Forest Service brought him to the West Coast, where he later married his wife Marci in 1960, and in 1964 began his long time career as an Entomologist with the University of California, Berkeley. Bud resided in Berkeley for the rest of his life, and he and Marci raised one daughter together in their beautiful Berkeley hills home,
where they shared many wonderful family adventures and memories.

Friends and family knew Bud for his gentle and positive nature, sense of humor, and very active life. Bud treasured the outdoors and nature, and had a wide range of interests, including skiing, mountain climbing, Sierra Club, bicycling, tennis, music, cooking and gardening.
His most passionate hobbies included cooking gourmet meals for friends and family,
playing violin with the Kensington Symphony, and guiding groups of children as a docent
for the Oakland Museum, Natural History Section.

Bud was devoted to his family and friends, his college and career,
and always embraced life with a sense of fun.
Married for 53 years to his loving wife, Marci, father to their one daughter, Maria,
he is also survived by his brother, John, as well as many nieces and nephews
and much extended family. Bud will be deeply missed and long remembered.