Thomas was born on June 9, 1919 to recent immigrants to Canada from Dumfries Scotland, Walter and Elizabeth (Brown) Hunter. His parents initially tried homesteading at Dollard SK. but after three successive years of crop failure, they retreated to Deloraine MB where Thomas and his twin brother William were born. The family then moved north to Birch Hills, SK. on the advice of relatives in the area and eventually settled on a farm south of Fenton SK. Thomas started farm labor abruptly at age 11 in 1930 when his father was bedridden from a stroke, eventually passing in 1933. Thomas with his siblings, mother and neighbors kept the farm operating during the Great Depression while achieving a Grade 9 education in the rural Coolidge and Heatherdell schools. Thomas moved to Ontario from 1936 to 1938 where he worked on a dairy farm, sending home pay cheques to support the family farm in Fenton eventually returning in 1939 to continue farming and take on winter work as a cook in a lumber camp near The Pas MB.

In 1940, Thomas enlisted in the Canadian Military Service Corps and trained as a mechanic and provided trucking, warehousing and logistics support within the Canadian armed forces, at various bases across Canada. He served in the UK in late 1943 and assisted with the buildup of troops and supplies prior to D-Day. He sent the bulk of his miliary salary home throughout the war and he took his leaves with relatives in Scotland during his service time in the UK. After the war ended, he stayed in England and helped with the armed forces demobilization effort, returning to Canada in 1946 and discharging from the Regina Rifles. Thomas spent the rest of his life near Fenton SK, farming and raising his family. The Veteran’s Land Act enabled him to gradually assemble his own five-quarter farm. In 1954, he married Leah Joyce Winder, with whom he was the father of five children: Darryl (Judy), Alynn (Brian), Roxanne, Garlin (Teresa), and Trent (Fiona) plus seven grandchildren—Chelle and Keir Matthews Hunter; Janae and Teya Hunter; Liam, Andrew and Owen Hunter, plus numerous nephews and nieces. Thomas continued to live and work on his farm until 2011 before reluctantly retiring in Birch Hills.

Thomas was actively involved in the Birch Hills community; the Royal Canadian Legion, the Air Cadets and serving as a trustee on the Birch Hills School Board and was active in the United Church including Camp Tapawingo at Candle Lake and was an active curler into his 90’s. In 2023, he was awarded the Queen’s Platinum Medal for his lifetime contributions to Saskatchewan and Canada. Always a quiet, honest, hardworking and unassuming man, his passions were farming, family, community and staying abreast of global and current news events. He wore the uniform with pride and Sherbrooke Community Centre Veteran’s Home in Saskatoon provided excellent care in his last year honoring him as one of their own. Thomas was predeceased by his daughter Roxanne in 2019 and his wife Joyce in April 2023.

Service for Thomas will be Saturday May 18, 2024 1:00 PM @ Christ Alone Lutheran Church- Birch Hills, Sk

Arrangements entrusted to Mackenzie Chapel : Brian & Bev Stobbs : Mark Gyoerick : Jordyn Jacobson : Mel Curle

Service: https://youtu.be/tfVtT5pUVA4

• Date : 2024-05-16
• Location : Birch Hills, SK