Nick Thomas

Nicholas David Thomas passed away on November 14, 2022, at the age of 60, in Washington, DC. Nick’s final days were spent combing the art collections at the Smithsonian, re-exploring his old haunts, and enjoying time with his daughter and her husband. Sadly, his heart failed, and he quietly passed from sleep into death. Nick was born February 10, 1962, the son of Nancy Cupido and Glenn John Thomas. He spent a tiny sliver of his childhood in Pittsburgh, PA before his dear mother found Vero Beach and decided her four young children would be raised in its warmer climate. Nick grew up in St. Helen’s Catholic Church and School with his sister Beth and brothers Tony and Jim. When his mother married Sam Moon, he found himself in a great historical home (where the Walgreens now sits at the corner on Route 60) which was then the way out-west of Vero. His classmates elected him President of the VBHS Senior Class of 1980. Nick went to Furman University where he found life-long friends in Tau Kappa Epsilon. He then transferred to University of Florida, graduating in 1984. In 1986, Nick married his high school sweetheart, Joy Heath, his wife of 21 years. Nick graduated from FSU Law School with honors in 1989 and accepted a position in Washington, DC as an Attorney Advisor for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. He not only soaked in the art, politics, and culture of DC but took every opportunity to board the Amtrak to enjoy the cities around him. By far the highlight of the DC experience was the birth of his beloved daughter Grace. Within days of her arrival, Nick strapped her into a front-pack to stroll together through the Phillips Collection of modern art. The family moved to Raleigh where Nick used his SEC experience to launch a successful securities arbitration practice. Nick, always an avid chef, started a popular food column in the Raleigh News & Observer. He was a devoted father, mentoring Grace to learn the countries of the world and many trivia facts leading her on her path to Kids’ Week on Jeopardy. In 2000, his happiness was multiplied with the arrival of his son Elliot who would become his best-ever fishing buddy. When the kids were young, the family boldly moved to Europe to spend nearly a half year in England and France, staking out small apartments and basking in the joys of living abroad. Eventually, the family returned to Vero Beach and thrilled to watch Grace and Elliot move through wonderful years in the classrooms and on the track of Vero Beach High School. While living in Vero, Grace met her now husband, Jeremy Wynn, who Nick welcomed into the family with open arms. Grace went on to William & Mary and Duke Law, with Elliot graduating from University of South Florida and pursuing a career in barbering in Miami. In Elliot’s middle school years, Nick bought a small boat, giving Elliot the chance to grow up at home on the water. When Elliot went to college, Nick gifted that boat, allowing the younger neighborhood kids the same chance. Nick’s children put the sparkle in his smile and allowed him a chance to happily involve himself in learning for learning’s sake, in creativity, and in taking in the wonder in every day. Nick was a think-outside-the-box citizen of the world who loved his family, his God, and the adventures that every year on earth had to offer him. He spent many a happy afternoon on the golf course, another pastime Elliot now embraces. Nick was an incredible musician and his ability to play the guitar and sing was as much fun for him as everyone who listened. He played small venues with his Johnny-Be-Witt band performing mostly covers but interjecting a few of Nick’s own songs. Nick was a talented artist and produced a series of sketches capturing amazing likenesses of celebrities and friends. His most treasured creative outlet was his writing and he earned multiple recognitions for his works of fiction including a published novel and regular contributions to the publications of MENSA, among others. While Nick won many law cases, he would probably look back with more joy on the kids he helped tutor, the strangers he befriended, and the buddies he bonded with over an epic meal. His foray back to Washington, DC was to be the beginning of another chapter of exploration and fascination which, regrettably, was over before it began. A funeral service to honor Nick will be held at Bethel Creek House (4405 A1A) at 4 pm on Friday November 25.

Nick Thomas

February 10, 1962 - November 14, 2022