Obituary for Allen “Al” Neal Thomas

Allen Neal Thomas, 92, died surrounded by family, on Monday, August 25, 2025, at University Downtown Hospital, in Iowa City. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, November 8, at Unitarian Universalist Society, 2355 Oakdale Road, Coralville, Iowa. 

On October 28, 1932, on a farm south of Norway, Iowa, Milicent Thomas haltingly made her way to the clothesline to hang up a dishtowel to signal her husband, Neal, to leave the field and get the doctor. Allen Neal Thomas was on his way. Thus begins a tale of the man who came to be known as “The Bard of Tower Court”. 

Al graduated from Hubbard High School in 1950, where he played baseball and was salutatorian of his class. He won the Des Moines Tribune’s 1946 spelling bee and was Hardin County’s Boys state representative. Al attended Ellsworth College in Iowa Falls for a year and then went on to State University of Iowa, as it was called then, in Iowa City to earn his BS in Pharmacy. He declared early on that he did not want to live anywhere but Iowa City. 

Al opened the Village Pharmacy on 5th Street in Coralville. Neighborhood children were always anxious to get old enough to cross 5th Street alone so they could buy candy by themselves and listen to Al, the pharmacist whistle cheery tunes. Later, he built a new building on 10th Avenue to house the pharmacy and two apartments. Al and his first wife, Betty Rarik, designed and he built their home at 1005 Tower Court. After Betty’s passing, Al married Nancy Ridenour on October 14, 2019. They attended plays and musicals, read books and poetry aloud to each other and made-up word games. Despite voices made scratchy by time, they sang together, but only privately. 

Al, being very community-minded, cycled through the committees and in offices of the many organizations he joined. He advocated for and then served for many years on the board of the Coralville Library. He was a longtime member of UUSIC and Secular Humanists. 

Thoughtful and analytical, people sought him out for his opinions. He loved books and movies and could always name authors, actors and directors. Friends often asked him to help them finish the New York Times Crossword Puzzle. He had a great store of knowledge so you could either Google questions or ask Al. People always wanted him on their Trivial Pursuit team. He used proper English, - “I beg your pardon”, but liked to pepper it occasionally with a new word or usage, such as “woke”. 

Al was best known for his stories, limericks, jokes, poems, and folk songs, which were often charmingly irreverent and sometimes accompanied by his ukelele. He had a great facility for memorizing and could recite many long classical poems and songs. He believed laughter was the best medicine and if the joke was on him all the better. He loved to bring some odd tool or doodad to a group of friends so they could try to guess its function. 

Al identified more as Norwegian from his mother’s side than German from his father’s side. The story he liked to tell best was that he was a Slooper. That is, he was a descendant of one of the 52 Norwegians who sailed in a 54 foot long single-masted vessel from Norway to New York in 1825. 

Al is survived by his wife, Nancy; children, Brian Thomas and Anne (Paul Kim) Thomas; stepchildren, Scott Ridenour (Sharon Lobb), Marcy (Marc) Oliver, Dana (James) Phelps; grandchildren, Gilbert Phelps; Caden Oliver; and daughter-in-law, Maggie Thomas. He was preceded in death by his son, Tim Thomas, first wife, Betty; and grandson, Jordan Hanul Lang. 

Memorials may be made in Al’s name to Iowa City Free Medical Clinic (2440 Towncrest Dr., Iowa City, IA 52241) or Unitarian Universalist Society Iowa City (UUSIC).