Early life and education
Born in Malad City, Idaho,"Governor Chooses Smith For Supreme Court Post", ''The Idaho Statesman'' (December 11, 1954), p. 5. he was the oldest child of David Morgan Thomas and Sarah Jane Williams Thomas. His early education through high school was in Malad City. After graduation from Malad High School, Thomas attended the former Boise Normal School and then was a teacher for several years in St. John and Elkhorn in Oneida County and in Dayton in Franklin County. He entered the University of Idaho in Moscow in 1921 and received hisCareer
Thomas served as the Oneida County prosecuting attorney for six years, Malad city attorney for four years, and assistant attorney general for Idaho for five years. He moved with his family from Malad to Boise in 1935 after that appointment. He was later an attorney for the Office of Price Administration and entered private practice with Eugene Anderson, a Boise attorney, about 1945. Thomas was the first native-born Idahoan to serve on the state supreme court.Published bio with photo in Idaho Supreme Court Building Photo Gallery, Boise, Idaho He was elected to the court in 1950 to a six-year term and served from January 1, 1951 until his death.Personal life
Thomas was married to Zilla Lewis (1895–1962), also a native of Malad City. He died of a heart attack at age sixty, and was buried in the Malad City cemetery.References
External links
* 1954 deaths 1894 births Idaho Democrats 20th-century American judges People from Malad City, Idaho Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court University of Idaho alumni University of Idaho College of Law alumni {{Idaho-state-judge-stub