James Charles Thomas, 75 of Ridge, MD died June 29, 2013 at his residence surrounded by his loving family.

Born April 1, 1938 in Galax, VA, he was the son of the late Charles Raymond Thomas of Galax and Eula Wright Thomas of Elk Creek.

Jim graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering. He was employed by Eagan, McAllister Associates as an engineer until his retirement in 2002. He also owned and operated his own business, Simple Solutions, a computer consulting, supply and printing company.

On March 17, 1983, he married his beloved wife of thirty years, Renee Thomas. He was an active member of First Friendship Methodist Church in Ridge, MD. Jim was a family man, devoted to his wife and children.

He enjoyed family camping trips, canoeing, square dancing, playing guitar, Bluegrass music and cooking gourmet meals for his family. His lifelong passion was photography. He enjoyed travelling throughout the United States and its national parks photographing landscapes and wildlife. He was especially fond of photographing scenes of the Chesapeake Bay area and its wildlife.

Most recently, he traveled to Italy and China where he took thousands of pictures. He was a life master bridge player and enjoyed playing in tournaments. Known as Grandpa Pipe to his grandchildren, Jim was an avid pipe smoker and amassed a collection of hundreds of pipes throughout his life. However, his greatest passion was spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren.

In addition to his wife, Jim is survived by his children, Kay Schroyer (Tony) of Front Royal, VA, Charles Thomas of California, MD, Bob Thomas (Lisa) of Gaithersburg, MD, Kevin Humphries (Angie) of Montgomery, AL, and Michael Humphries (Janine) of Tucson, AZ; and his grandchildren Alexandra, Miranda, Jake, Josh, Samantha, Aaron, Natalee, Charlie, Nicholas, Ashley, Daniel, Christine and Alyssa. He is preceded in death by his parents.

Services will be scheduled at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of St. Mary's, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650.

Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, MD.