Canton family grief-stricken over loss of beloved husband, dad

It has been two weeks since the sudden passing of George Thomas IV and the unfairness of it all seems almost too much to fathom.

Thomas, a nearly lifelong Canton resident, died as a result of heart complications following a routine workout at his home on February 25, just days before his 39th birthday. A standout soccer player in high school and college, he had recently completed a 30-day dietary program and had been feeling good about his health and looking forward to the warmer weather and the chance to spend more time outdoors.

George and Marissa Thomas in a recent photo with their sons, George and James

At once laidback and outgoing, Thomas was a man who seemingly had it all — a picture-perfect marriage with his college sweetheart, Marissa, two beautiful boys, supportive parents and siblings, a great job and a home to be proud of. He also coached, volunteered, gave back and paid it forward, and the enormity of his loss has reverberated across the Canton community and beyond.

“George leaves behind so many different circles of families and friends who all feel the same way about this loss as we in the Bulldog soccer family do,” said CHS soccer coach Danny Erickson in a recent published tribute. “We are so, so sad that our dear friend has left us, but we are all feeling so fortunate to have had him in our lives.”

George’s wife, Marissa, who is expecting the couple’s third child — a daughter — this summer, said she has been doing her best to maintain normalcy for the boys but has been struggling deeply with the loss of her closest confidant and soulmate.

“I’m very, very sad and beyond devastated,” she said. “I just don’t get it. I think he’s going to walk through the door and he isn’t.”

A pediatric oncology/hematology nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital, Marissa had performed CPR on her husband after finding him unresponsive beside his exercise bike and she credits the paramedics and EMTs for trying everything they could to revive him. She felt a brief glimmer of hope when they made the decision to transfer him to a nearby hospital, but the nurse in her knew that he was already gone.

“We sat in the waiting room for maybe five or 10 minutes and then they brought us into this private room and I just knew it was over,” she said. “I went and saw him and laid with him and held him for a good amount of time. I still don’t even feel like it’s real.”

What she can say for certain, and what so many others have echoed about George, is that he just made everything and everyone around him better — impacting and enriching others’ lives in both large and small ways.

As a husband, he was a dream come true, said Marissa. He cheered her when she got her master’s in nursing and consoled her when her father passed away. He introduced her to new experiences, including memorable family camping trips, and he supported her own interests and “always said yes” to every fundraiser and function that she asked him to attend.

“He just got me,” said Marissa. “I didn’t realize this, but a lot of people who sent cards wrote that we had what people dreamed of. He is my everything and he always will be.”

George, she said, was also incredibly skilled with his hands, and he delighted in tackling home improvement projects — often with inspiration from Marissa and help from his father, brothers, or his co-workers at Sunrise Erectors, a Canton-based construction business.

“People would call us [former HGTV stars] Joanna and Chip Gaines,” said Marissa. “I loved decorating and George loved my ideas and he would bring them to life.”

James visits his daddy for lunch at Sunrise Erectors.

Over the course of his 20-year career at Sunrise, George rose through the ranks from shop hand to his eventual role as chief estimator, and according to Sunrise Partner Andy Erickson, he helped build the estimating department into one of the company’s greatest strengths.

“A company couldn’t ask for a better person to represent them on a daily basis,” Erickson said. “We were beyond lucky to have him leading our team. He always had such a positive impact on everything he touched at Sunrise.”

His father, George III, a mason by profession, said that George learned a lot by being around the family business and was able to “take everything in” and then learn by doing. He was also blessed with self-confidence from a young age and grew up believing he could do whatever older brothers Zach and Andy and sister Rachel could do.

“When I would throw the baseball around with his siblings and I would throw from 50 feet, he wasn’t happy that I was throwing it to him from 10 feet away,” he said. “He really looked up to them in many ways, but also they helped him become who he is.”

George’s mother, Patti, said they were very lucky to have four “fabulous and wonderful” children, and George, who was the youngest of the family, was always so “outgoing and upbeat and loving.”

She added that he valued his father’s input very much and stayed in touch with both of them, calling or texting every day. “He was very caring,” she said.

That caring side, Patti said, was most evident with his own growing family. “There’s no other father like him,” she said. “He was totally dedicated to his wife and children. He delighted in them.”

Marissa said George cherished every moment of fatherhood — from the backyard games to the bedtime routines and everything in between. And after she got pregnant again this past November and it came time to learn the gender, George calmly opened the envelope and shouted to a nervous Marissa waiting in the other room, “Oh boy, oh boy — it’s a girl!”

“George wanted like a soccer team for a family,” said Marissa. “And honestly he probably could handle it because he was the best dad in the world.”

He also relished his opportunities as a coach, first as a longtime varsity assistant at CHS, his alma mater, and later as the coach of his son George V’s youth soccer team.

Danny Erickson, who coached him during his all-star career with the Bulldogs and later welcomed him onto his staff for a memorable nine-year run, called GT the “best assistant coach [he has] ever had.”

Coach George Thomas IV with his son George V

“[George] added fun, care and love to everything he was a part of. He was all upside,” Erickson said in remarks given at the funeral. “He unselfishly always made everyone feel like they were the important one in any conversation. The important one in the room. The important one on the team. Whatever it was, he never felt the need to make anything about himself, and in doing so, he selflessly improved the lives of everyone here and everyone who knew him.”

Perhaps because of that selflessness, countless loved ones, friends and even strangers have rallied hard in support of the Thomas family as they cope with unspeakable grief.

“The support has been unbelievable, immeasurable,” said Marissa. “I can’t even begin to thank everyone for all that they have done for us.”

One of Marissa’s friends from college, together with Marissa’s sister Stephanie, set up a GoFundMe page to help provide financial support and the donations have been pouring in ever since. A meal train was subsequently organized for Tuesdays and Fridays and already there are commitments scheduled through early August. Marissa’s mom, Anne, who adored George, drove straight to Canton from Worcester to be with her daughter and grandchildren, and her sister drove up from Washington, D.C. Her children’s teachers, Ms. Dixon at the JFK School and Ms. O’Leary at the Rodman Pre-K, have both been by the house and have gone above and beyond to support both kids. Canton resident and Boston Globe columnist Beverly Beckham also wrote a tribute to George that emphasized the eternal nature of love and brought Marissa to tears.

“All of it — the kind words, the cards, books, gift cards, gifts for the kids, tons of food, the donations — it’s definitely carrying me through,” said Marissa. “I had never thought of myself as being a Canton person, but I feel at home here. I feel like I have a community behind me to carry me.”

And yet as loved as she feels, Marissa said it’s hard not to also feel alone. “It feels like a part of me is missing,” she said. “I wanted to grow old together with him.”

She sometimes finds solace in the quieter moments — like on her daily walks to the cemetery, or while cuddling in bed with the boys. But mostly, she just hurts.

“A lot of people have been telling me, ‘You’re so strong,’” she said. “But I don’t feel strong. I’m a mess.”

Still, she is determined to push through for the kids, which she knows is what George would have wanted. And as the healing continues, she hopes to “continue his legacy, his traditions and his stories.”

When she thinks about her husband and the impact he has had, she is reminded of the New England Patriots, a team he grew up rooting for, and of their former quarterback who is now widely hailed as the “greatest of all time.”

“George loved Tom Brady,” said Marissa. “But I kind of feel like my husband is the greatest of all time — the ‘GOAT’ as they say.”

To donate to the GoFundMe account in support of the Thomas family, visit www.gofundme.com/f/assistance-for-marissa-thomas.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=73391

Posted by Jay Turner on Mar 12 2021. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.