Maurice Thomas

Maurice Joseph Thomas, of Coram, New York passed away at 93 years of age on November 21, 2021, at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, New York, after a courageous battle with double pneumonia.

Born on  August 7, 1928, in Newark, New Jersey, Maurice was the second born son of the late Joseph Thomas Gourdin and Ruth Sledge. Sadly, he never knew his older brother Joseph because he only lived for one month.

Maurice lived most of his life in Bedford- Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. He attended St. Peter Claver's Elementary School where he was a Cub Scout and then a Boy Scout. He also served as an altar boy at St. Peter Claver’s Church. Later, he attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School and was a member of the Knights of Columbus.

A devout Catholic, Maurice actually considered attending seminary with his best friend, the late Reverend William Rogers. That plan changed when he met the love of his life: Marie Louise Denise, known to most as Denise, but Maurice affectionately called his sweetheart “TiDen”.

In August of 1950, Maurice and Denise were married and started their large family. He was sincere in his efforts to obey the command to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”. They went on to have 7 wonderful children, 15 amazing grandchildren, 35 marvelous great-grandchildren and (so far) 5 incredible great-great-grandchildren. He affectionately called many of the children by nicknames. One of his great-granddaughters said she really loved that he called her “Sweet Potato” when she was a little girl.

Maurice was an avid reader, fitness enthusiast, historian, orator and collector. He loved to read and share everything he learned with anyone who would listen. He enjoyed strength training exercises and would wake his children up at the crack of dawn to do calisthenics and count reps for him as he lifted weights. He belonged to the G.B.S.C. Bicycle Racing Team (German Bicycle Sports Club of America) and over the years won many trophies racing bicycles. Although Maurice owned cars and multiple bicycles, he preferred to ride his prized black Rudge bike. He was well known for always riding his bike everywhere, and continued to do so well into his eighties. Maurice was fascinated with the history of photography. He collected valuable photographic equipment and even taught several college photography classes.

Beginning at only 12 years old, Maurice began his long life of hard work. He worked at the fruit & vegetable store on the ground floor of a building on the corner of Tompkins Avenue and Halsey Street, when he lived above it. He was very industrious and went on to work many jobs, some even overlapping, including at the Ogilvie Press in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the United States Postal Service, and the New York City Department of Sanitation where he rose up the ranks to become a Foreman. In 1991, Maurice retired from Sanitation, but continued to work hard. He moved to Medford and drove a paratransit bus for consumers with special needs all around Long Island. When he could no longer drive due to his failing eyesight, he became a driver's assistant and continued doing that until he was 88 years young. Maurice has often said that he was afraid that if he stopped moving, that he would stop moving. A lifelong Poll Worker, he continued doing that until 2019 when his advanced age and declining health limited his ability to get around freely. It was very important to Maurice to instill his strong work ethic into his children and his legacy has been successfully passed down from generation to generation. Thank you Daddy! Thank you Grandpa! Thank you Great Grandpa!

Maurice was preceded in death by his father Joseph (1989), mother Ruth (1965), older brother Joseph (1927), lovely wife Denise (9/2/09), precious great-grandson, JaKobe Agosto (11-26-2006) and beloved great-granddaughter, Kimani Foster (10/6/20).

He is survived by his 7 children, Marie, Marguerite, Louise, Joseph (wife Gabrielle), Foufonne, Vincent (wife Patricia), and Denise (husband Dennis); his 15 grandchildren, Dena (husband Mark), Julio, Chauna, Emmanuel, Joseph (wife Alicia), Christopher, Tai (husband Gavin), David, Maurice (wife Tiana), Daisy, Katrina (husband Douglas), Desmond, LaQuan, Nadia, Vaniah (husband James); his great-grandchildren, Jabari-Aqeel, Tereance, Tasia, Randy, Ty, Julio, Michael, Jashaun, Juanita, Julius, Julian, Jordan, Jayden, Brielle, Trinity, Jada, Josiah, Micah, Gabriel, Jolie, Cayden, Julian, Christian, Landon, Logan, King, Jeremiah, Marquela, Rylee, Nadja, Mia, Amon, and Zion; and his great-great grandchildren, Jabari, Alana, Makaii, Michael, and MiEirie.

Maurice always asked us to "Please pray for world peace". Whether in person or on the phone, he didn't like to say “goodbye”, he always insisted on saying "so long".

“So long Mr. Thomas, until we see you again.”

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