‘There’s not a finer man out there’: Don Thomas retires from medical practice

Jan. 27--Don Thomas reckons he delivered thousands of babies and treated thousands more patients during a medical career that spanned more than a half century, but since his retirement you're more likely to find him on his sofa watching the Atlanta Braves than donning a white coat and asking you where it hurts, says his wife Mary.

"I delivered babies in 1960 that I still treated 58 years later," Don Thomas said with a gentle chuckle.

Thomas retired from his practice on Cleveland Highway late last year, citing a combination of intensive hand tremors and Parkinson's disease, and though he no longer practices he still reads medical journals and keeps apprised of recent developments in the field.

Not just a fixture in Whitfield County, Thomas has been called the father of the smoking ban in Georgia, as during his 14-year tenure in the state Senate he championed legislation that made smoking in most buildings open to the public illegal in the state. He also led the effort to require pickup truck drivers to wear seat belts. Neither was an easy accomplishment as the smoking ban took four years to pass and the seat belt requirement required three years to garner enough support to become law.

Thomas said his experience as a doctor and his concern for the state's youth inspired his fight for both pieces of legislation.

"Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in this country and around the world, and children were being exposed to it in restaurants and other places. They had no choice," he explained. "It causes so many medical diseases, not just cancer. All people have to do to not die of it is not smoke or use tobacco, but that's not enough because secondhand smoke causes a lot of deaths throughout this country and throughout the world."

Even when the Georgia Smokefree Air Act finally made it to the desk of then-Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2005 it wasn't a shoo-in, as Perdue called it a tough decision between public health and the state's role in the daily lives of its citizens. The governor did eventually sign the bill in May and it took effect in July of that year.

Perdue also signed the law requiring seat belt use in pickup trucks in 2010. Thomas said that bill took a few tries because of one senator in particular who loved his truck but wasn't particularly fond of using a seat belt. That senator's retirement cleared the way for the new law, one that Thomas believes has saved lives.

"That's the first vehicle many young men in Georgia have, and he's much more likely to be thrown from his vehicle and killed or severely injured if he's not buckled up with a seat belt," Thomas said.

Before joining the Senate, Thomas spent 12 years as a member of the Whitfield County school board and played a key role in filing a lawsuit against the state related to the way public schools were funded. Though the lawsuit was turned away by the Supreme Court of Georgia, the justices did tell the state that changes were needed.

Tom Dickson was an administrator for the school system back then and later a state representative while Thomas was in the Senate, and he said one would be hard pressed to find someone with a negative word to say about the longtime physician and lawmaker.

"There's not a finer man out there than Don Thomas," said Dickson, who along with members of his family were patients of Thomas. "You could always count on him to tell you what he thought and to support what he believed in."

It was during Thomas' years on the school board that the county system merged four high schools into two, a move that Thomas said led to great improvements.

"That was my aim, to make Whitfield County Schools one of the top systems in the state, or near the top, and we were rated in the top 10 by the time we completed our reorganization plans," he said. "That took everyone working together, from the board to the administrators to the principals to the teachers to the students."

Charlie Bethel, now a justice on the Supreme Court of Georgia, took over the 54th District seat after Thomas' retirement from government in 2010. He said Thomas, whom he first met when the doctor performed a physical on him for high school football, is a man his family has long revered.

"I was always impressed by his concern for people and his concern for doing what he thought was right no matter what," said Bethel. "He always approached those with resistance or opposition with a smile and a friendly word. ... I think that is the highest aspiration you can shoot for."

Bethel said Thomas took care to introduce him around at the state Capitol and that everyone there had a story about "Dr. Don," including that he'd often kick off his shoes while working, and that he provided his medical services to many of his fellow legislators. Bethel described Thomas as straightforward and honest, and he said it was a privilege to follow in his footsteps.

"I got to take advantage of having the Dr. Don seal of approval," said Bethel.

Bethel also complimented Thomas' work as a medical professional, saying increased specialization now means few physicians get to know their patients as well or perform as many services as in years past.

"They don't make doctors like Dr. Don anymore. That's just the nature of the practice," Bethel said.

Calvin Means, who had been a patient of Thomas' since the early 1990s, agreed with that assessment, saying Thomas offered a personalized approach and that he was often willing to work with patients who might not have insurance or the ability to pay right away.

Means, who until recently was the general manager of the WDNN television station, said he had the pleasure of knowing Thomas in three capacities: as a patient, a friend and often the subject of his news coverage thanks to Thomas' political career.

"I hated it as a patient when he retired from medicine because I had to find a new doctor, but I also hated it when he retired from the state Senate because he was such an effective leader," Means said.

Garlene Crow, who was a lab technician before her own retirement, worked alongside Thomas for 48 years and said she loved working with him because he treated everyone, patients included, like his family.

"He went above and beyond for his patients," she said.

Gail Whiteside worked as an office manager for Thomas for several years and said he's probably one of the last doctors who were trained to do it all, from delivering babies to tonsillectomies. She said Thomas truly cared for every patient he served.

"His patients absolutely loved him, and he had a lot of patients, more than anyone realized," she said. "He was more than a doctor, he was their friend."

Thomas, who is a Rotarian, Gideon and Mason, said he may do some traveling now that he's fully retired, but his main focus will be rest, relaxation and family. He and Mary have eight children between them, more than 20 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He also plans to do a lot of fishing and dancing.

"With dancing, I'm not an expert at all, but with Mary all I have to do is grab her and hang on because she's good," he said.

Thomas did note one unexpected challenge with retirement: After 58 years of running his practice he still wakes up every morning feeling the need to get to work. Were it not for the tremor in his hands he might still be at the office today, he said.

"The Lord has blessed me," Thomas said of his family and his careers in medicine and public service.

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