Joseph B. Thomas Jr

JOSEPH BENJAMIN THOMAS JR. was born on May 9, 1944, in Monmouth County NJ to the union of the late Joseph Benjamin and Rose (Lee) Thomas, Sr. Joseph Jr. was the oldest son of five siblings, Delia, Rosalind, Beverly, and Bernard. On August14, 1944, God sent his angels to escort Joseph Jr. to his heavenly home. Ben as his family affectionately called him, attended Matawan Public School System and Graduated from Matawan High School in June 1962. In 1964 Ben joined the US. Army until he received an honorable discharge in 1967. The last place he was stationed at was in Colorado. Ben was employed by E.I Dupont, Sayreville, NJ in 1967 and held the position as a Millwright worker. He was also Vice President of the Union. In 2001 Ben was able to take early retirement. Ben met and married Esther Hill and from this union one son, Duane was born. He was proud to ride his 1100 Yamaha Motorcycle and enjoyed the days when the weather was nice to ride. Everywhere Ben went you would always see him with a camera because he loved to capture the moment. Ben loved to hunt and was always eager to accompany his Uncle Willie Lee and Lee cousins to Glassboro , NJ on the 2nd Saturday in November of each year when hunting season started. They would hunt in the morning with his cousin Wes Holmes and have a thanksgiving feast in the afternoon prepared by his cousin Dot Lee Holmes. Ben also loved to fish and would often accompany his Lee cousins and friends to deep sea fishing. Of course, they had to clean the fish and share with other family and friends. Ben attended many family gatherings throughout the years and also attended many Axie Bowls Williams Lee Family Reunions from 1985 until 2006. He enjoyed meeting new family members and learning his family history. On November 27, 2004, he married Toni Hedgepeth and they relocated to Wilson NC in 2005. While living in Wilson, Ben and Toni joined Mount Hebron Seven-Day Adventist Church and was baptized on December 12. 2012. Ben was ordained as a Head Deacon by Pastor Derrin on October 22, 2016. He was a faithful deacon and enjoyed serving the church in whatever needed to be done. He and Toni also enjoyed attending workshops at the Camp meetings in Orangeburg South Carolina annually. They enjoyed travelling and visiting with family, especially his siblings and son and daughter-in-law and granddaughters. Ben was predeceased by his parents Joseph & Rose Thomas and his two sisters, Delia Mackason (2004) Beverly Thomas (2013). Ben leaves to cherish his memories: a loving wife, Toni Thomas; a loving & devoted son, Duane (Zena) Thomas; two granddaughters, Cordellia & Casey Thomas; one brother, Bernard (Gloria) Thomas; one sister. Rosalind Lewis; a brother in-law, Michael Hedgepeth; a long- time friend, Leroy ‘Fox’ Grey; and many special nieces, nephews and cousins, and a host of other family and friends

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