4/12/1931-12/28/2023
Pat was born in Des Moines, Iowa on April 12, 1931. Pat was the second child of parents Harry E. Hanson and Mary Ellen Hanson, of Des Moines. She had an older brother, Dr. Robert Hanson (deceased), of Des Moines IA.
Pat graduated from East High School in January 1950.
She met and married Dr. John H. Thomas of Des Moines, Iowa. John and Pat had four children, Mary Josephine Thomas (deceased); Mark Samuel Thomas (deceased); Matthew Patrick Thomas, of Osage Beach, Missouri; and Michael John Thomas of West Des Moines, Iowa. Pat was a loving wife and devoted mother.
After losing the oldest, Mary Jo, to complications of cerebral palsy, and nearly losing Mark to a brain tumor, they bought an acreage in the country in Grimes, Iowa. Pat had many busy projects with her kids: Indian Guides, Cub Scouts, 4-H, and showing quarter horses. Pat made all of the western pleasure outfits for all three of her boys and the horses for the horse shows.
Pat loved her big garden and doing anything with her family. Pat was a devout Catholic and raised her family in her faith. She was a parishioner at Saint Boniface in Waukee, Iowa; Sacred Heart in West Des Moines, Iowa; and Saint Augustin in Des Moines, Iowa.
Dr. Thomas and Pat were heavily involved in the Iowa Optometric Association. Pat was IOA auxiliary president along with her husband, who was the IOA president.
She loved taking the family to all of the conventions across the United States.
After phasing out of the quarter horse shows in the summer, they decided to buy a condo in Okoboji, Iowa. Okoboji was Pat’s first love and she spent countless summers up there with her boys, enjoying boating, friends, and all the lake had to offer.
Pat also worked for 15 years for Boesen the Florist on Ingersoll in Des Moines, Iowa. She loved flower arranging and seeing smiles on people's faces who enjoyed what she made.
In their golden years, Dr. and Pat moved to Osage Beach, Missouri, as the season was a bit longer than Okoboji. Pat loved to always be by a lake, as did her husband and their family. They were truly lake people through and through.
Pat is survived by her sons, Matthew Patrick Thomas and Michael John Thomas, and nephew, Thomas Michael Hanson of Johnston, Iowa.
Services will be held on Thursday, January 11, 2024 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 1627 Grand Avenue, West Des Moines, IA 50265, with visitation from 9:30 to 10:30 AM, Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 AM, followed immediately by burial at Glendale Cemetery. Following the burial, there will be a luncheon at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the parish hall.