A resident of Ethel and a native of Torquay, Devon, England, he died on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017 at his home. He was 82 years old. He served in the Royal Air Force in England as a young man.

Visiting will be at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Slaughter Branch, Hwy 412, on Friday, Mar. 3, 2017 from 10am until service at 11am conducted by President Carl Walker. Burial will be in the Heirtzler Family Cemetery, Ethel.

He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Wayne Laverne Heirtzler Thomas.

Sons, Martin Neil Robinson Thomas and wife, Karen, Huntersville, NC and Stephen Derrick Robinson Thomas and wife, Hiromi, Forest Hills, NY.

A sister, Patricia Clare Thomas and husband, Anthony (Tony) Hexter, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand.

2 brothers, Brian Robinson Thomas, Torquay, Devon, England and Michael Robinson Thomas and wife, Judith, Dallas, TX.

3 grandchildren, Ryan Neil Thomas, Brandon Neil Thomas and Lio Ishihara Thomas.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Leslie Robinson Thomas and Margaret Lilford Burridge Thomas.

Philip was in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World. He has a BSc, MSc and PhD from University of London. His MSc Thesis was on Transistors in Pulse and Switching Circuits, his PhD Thesis was A Ternary Range of Integrated Circuits.

He was the founder of Thomas Group, Inc., VP Solid State Business at RCA, Fairchild VP and GM of the MOS Division, General Instruments, VP Semiconductor Business, and at Texas Instruments various Managerial Positions. Philip published 6 books on the subject of “Cycle Time”. 3 of his books were published in Chinese and 1 in German. He served several years on the Business School Board of College of William and Mary at the request of Margaret Thatcher, then the Chancellor of William and Mary. Philip published many articles in Business and Technical Journals. He spoke on numerous occasions internationally on the subject of the “Enterprise Wide Application of Speed in Business”. He received numerous awards and recognition in Business and Technical Fields during his lifetime. Philip was a Patentee of semiconductors and enjoyed the challenges of playing chess and also loved ballroom dancing.

Memorial donations may be made to Alzheimers.org.

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