He looked like every picture of Santa you've ever seen, down to the white beard and white hair. That's what earned John Henry Thomas the nickname, Santa Claus.
Each December, Thomas turned his antique store into the local station of the North Pole. He delighted children who loved to sit on Santa's lap and have their picture taken with him. Thomas, along with his wife as Mrs. Claus, were booked for stints at the Mall of American in Minnesota.
It's a joy many people will miss this year. Thomas died Tuesday at the Cottingham Hospice House. He was 76. Not only was he Old Saint Nick, but Thomas and his wife also owned Mountain Gallery and The Village Framer in Walhalla, he was a retiree from the Ford Motor Company and he was a member of several town programs.
"He and his wife were real jovial and loved people,” Kay Roach-Owens, owner of Palmetto Sweets bakery in Walhalla, told the Anderson Independent Mail. “He was a good man and he made a lot of children happy. And he did a lot for Walhalla.”
"I feel saddened by John’s death,” said Thelma Miller, former Walhalla city council member who worked with Thomas on several civic projects. “He touched so many lives in Walhalla and always worked for the betterment of the town.”
Walhalla Mayor Randy Chastain told the Independent Mail the town lost a good man.
Thomas' funeral will be held Saturday, July 30th at 2 p.m. at the Davenport Funeral Home in Walhalla.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to the Oconee Medical Center, Hospice of the Foothills.
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