Patricia T. Thomas.
Photo: Courtesy of the Patricia T. Thomas family.
UCLA alumna Patricia Thompson Thomas died on May 24, 2019. She was 93 years old. Thomas met Robert Thomas, the love of her life, in 1947 at the UCLA Bruin newspaper, where they both were college columnists. She received a master’s degree in history from UCLA, specializing in ancient Greek and Roman history, and she was a teaching assistant at UCLA for eight years.
In addition to supporting fellowships and scholarships in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Thomas and her late husband made contributions to UCLA Health, the UCLA Library and the Chancellor’s Greatest Needs. She also served for many years on the UCLA Medical Center Board, where she often was the only female member, advocating for hospital quality assurance. Thomas was a founding member of the UCLA Alumni Association group Las Doñas, supervising the publication of walking tours of UCLA. She became an advisory trustee to the board of The UCLA Foundation, and she was elected vice president of the UCLA Alumni Association Board and received the University Service Award from the UCLA Alumni Association in 1976. Her volunteer work extended to other organizations, including groups working on juvenile protection and health services. Thomas was an avid reader who took many UCLA extension courses and enjoyed traveling. She is survived by three daughters, Nancy, Janet and Caroline; sons-in-law Kevin Goff and James McGowan; and grandsons Matthew Goff, Ryan McGowan and Tristan McGowan.
