He was friends with Errol Flynn, he took Charles Lindbergh sailing on San Diego Bay, he was considered the fastest man in America in 1940 and he helped Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discover San Diego Bay 21 times.
Howard Thomas was known along the waterfront as the “Ancient Mariner.” He was a man for all seasons, and friend of all the world. He died June 3 of natural causes at the age of 87 in the comfort of his home, with family nearby.
Looking as though he stepped right off the pages of a Joseph Conrad novel or off the label of an Old Spice bottle, Thomas was a natural gentleman and extremely credible. He mentored people of all ages and was devoted to his wife and three sons but still managed to indulge in his love of the sea, often to extremes.
Howard Thomas worked for the Auto Club of Southern California for 36 years and was regional manager for the Auto Club of San Diego County for a decade before his retirement.
He was chairman of the San Diego Rotary Club Yachting Committee and commodore of the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians.
He was a loan executive for United Way, vice president of sales and marketing for the City of San Diego, president of the San Diego Public Safety Committee and president of Cabrillo Festival. But that just scratched the surface.
Walter Mitty fantasized about being larger than life. Howard Thomas was larger than life. He lived out adventures on land and at sea to the fullest, collecting the most unbelievable chapters in his long life and an even longer list of friends who admired the man for a lifetime of honesty and integrity.
As a young man living in Tujunga, he was as fast as the wind. Thomas captained the San Fernando High School track team, the Glendale College track team, and the Fresno State University track team.
He was named to the All-American track team for high hurdles and held the 120 high hurdle national record. He qualified for the Olympics in 1940, but WWII dashed his dreams of a gold medal when the Olympics were cancelled.
Over his long career Howard Thomas was tasked with finding a traditional sailing vessel to recreate the annual “discovery” of San Diego by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo for the San Diego Cabrillo Festival.
Howard got a kick out of telling people that he helped Cabrillo discover San Diego 21 times. Captain Thomas would arrange for the sailing ship (intended to be Cabrillo’s San Salvador), the rowboats to get Cabrillo, his priest and soldiers ashore, and often Howard would have to point them to shore or give rowing lessons just to help the re-enactors reach their destination.
Howard Thomas lived in La Jolla for 18 years and Point Loma for 32 years. His wife Dawn predeceased him in 1993. He is survived by a sister Jane of Orange County; sons Baron of San Diego, Drake of Maui, Hawaii, and Lance of Coronado; seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life will be held at the San Diego Maritime Museum, Friday, June 29, at 6:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the San Diego Maritime Museum “In Memory of Captain Howard Thomas.”