Ben Lewis Thomas was born in Hanover County, Virginia on August 1 2, 1940. He was the youngest brother of seven siblings.

He attended Bethany Elementary School and graduated from John M. Gandy High School. He served in the United States Army. Upon his return to Hanover from the service, he worked for a contract company at North Anna Power Station during the early construction phases of the power plant; worked at the Rock Quarry in Doswell; and ultimately retired working as a logger, a trade he shared with both his brother, Charles, and their father.

Ben was a true outdoorsman. He loved to fish and to hunt, and was a member of the Whitetail Rivers Hunt Club. To find him on any given day, all you had to do was go to "Dike 3" at Lake Anna. There, he could be found with his fishing buddies having a good time, even if they weren't catching a thing. The other place he could be found, almost daily, was the B & L Country Store in Bumpass, sitting on a chair next to the checkout counter, greeting people and keeping the clerks company.

He was affectionately known to his nieces, nephews and the neighborhood children as "Uncle Ben". He loved family time with lots of good food, laughing, storytelling, picking on the children and just hanging out. He would sometimes get so tickled while telling a story, that he could hardly finish telling it, because he, himself, was laughing so hard. At his last birthday party, he really enjoyed his chocolate ice cream, down to the last scrape in the container.

There are many Uncle Ben stories and he will live on in the hearts and minds of those who love him.

Ben was preceded in death by his parents, James Henry and Lenora Thomas; sisters, Viola Harvey and Millie Jackson; brothers, Jim and Charles Thomas.

He leaves behind three sisters, Pearline Graves, ldabell Johnson and Sallie Tyler; a brother-in-law, Berkley Jackson; a devoted niece, Mary Graves and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 17520 Jefferson Highway, Montpelier, Virginia 23192.

Burial with military honors will follow in Spring Grove Cemetery Mineral, Virginia 23117.