Family members recently said their final good-byes to Romaine B. Thomas, a Ward 5 matriarch who, for more than half a century, educated young people, stood up for the elderly, and preserved history amid gentrification, all while being a wife and mother to local political leaders.
As Mother’s Day fast approaches, Thomas’ only son, former Ward 5 D.C. Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr., is taking solace in the more than 60 years he spent with his late mother.
“None of that is always guaranteed to any of us,” Thomas told The Informer. “We don’t know how much time we’re going to have with people, so for me to have that kind of time in this life and collective wisdom that I continuously see from my mother was a blessing in itself.”
On April 27, Thomas announced his mother’s death to an online community that included many of her colleagues, mentees, and former students. The late Thomas, a second-generation Washingtonian and lifelong resident of Ivy City in Northeast, died at the age of 96.
In the days and weeks leading up to that fateful day, the former Ward 5 council representative and several other family members coalesced around the late Thomas’ care and comfort. Three generations of Thomases would later gel together plans for: an evening of reflection on May 3 at Michigan Park Christian Church in Northeast on May 3, and a well-attended funeral service at Bethesda Baptist Church in Northeast on May 4 followed by a repast at Ivy City Smokehouse.
For Thomas, nothing compared to serving his mother during her final moments.
“I was honored to nurture her as she nurtured me coming into this world,” Thomas said. “When I was in incarceration, I would pray every day that my mom would be here when I got back, and the Lord heartened me with that. There was a responsibility that was put on me that I had to try to do my best to ensure that her life was comfortable until the end.”
Looking Back: A Mother Figure to Many
The late Thomas was born on June 5, 1929. She matriculated through D.C. Public Schools, attending Crummell Elementary School, Brown Middle School and Cardozo High School. She later completed her undergraduate studies at what was then Miners Teachers College before pursuing her master’s degree at George Washington University.
Also of significance to her personal and professional journey was a stint at what was then Lasalle School during a period of racial segregation in the District, along with her pursuit of advanced studies at Vanderbilt University and study of open-space education in London.
As Thomas explained, his mother leveraged her global experiences to effect change locally.
“She went to China, she went to Africa, she went to places to get recognized but she never moved out of a 10-mile radius,” Thomas told The Informer. “A lot of us stay in those siloes and don’t grow, so she showed how you can grow beyond your circumstances but never forget your sense of community.”
Kai Thomas, the former council member’s daughter and a traveler in her own right, said she caught the travel bug from her late grandmother despite never accompanying her on her excursions.
“I was too young,” said Thomas, a 21-year-old who’s since traveled to London, the Dominican Republic, and Panama, “but I did hear many a story about the different safaris that she’d take or cruises that she would take. I was a kid listening to this fairy tale story of a place that I’ve never been to.”
The younger Thomas, a photography and communications student at a college in the Northeast, told The Informer that, this Mother’s Day, she will honor the woman she called Mumsy, in part, by remembering her constant presence, support and influence.
“That support looked like love in the form of congratulations that I had a good year of grades,” she said. “It looked like…being there for my family during trying times. It looked like a hug and a kiss and telling me I’m doing good at being like a person in life.”
As the youngest Thomas granddaughter recounted, her grandmother even imparted words of wisdom.
“She would always tell me, ‘Don’t act ugly,’” Thomas said. “Just a very good role model in my life in general to be there and love and care for my family.”
Throughout much of her life, the Thomas matriarch served as a role model to legions of young people. She started her teacher career at her alma mater Crummell Elementary School before dedicating 25 years of service to Ketcham Middle School as an award-winning principal.
Beyond education, Thomas served the District as chair of the D.C. Commission on Aging, president of the Woodridge Civic Association, member of the D.C. Historic Preservation Board, and a delegate at the 2012 Democratic National Convention where President Barack Obama won party nomination for the second time.
In her later years, the late Thomas received a litany of awards and recognition, including the renaming of Ward 5’s Rocketship Infinity Prep in her honor. As her son explained, his mother went to great lengths for her youth.
“She made it a point to work through my father [then D.C. Councilmember Harry Thomas, Sr.] to get the National Park Service to allow her to have [Ketcham Elementary School’s] graduation at Frederick Douglass’ house,” he told The Informer. “Her leadership in that was the vision of those kids looking off that hill and connecting history to life today and understanding how those things happen.”
A Family Affair
The matriarch leaves a large family to cherish her memory and further her work and legacy, including her son and daughter Debra Truhart, as well as a son-in-law and daughter-in-law, Diane Romo Thomas and Spillman K. Truhart Jr., eight grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and several other family members.
During her twilight years, as her family expanded, the late Thomas took interest in their athletic and artistic endeavors.
“No matter what she had, she found a way to go to games with me, whether we were driving to North Carolina or going to Georgia to see them play,” Harry Thomas, Jr. told The Informer. “ If my niece was in the performing arts, she made sure she was at those plays. Whatever segment of life we took or her grandkids took, she was always able to shift gears and be supportive.”
Just as she had done for her son during her days as a principal at Ketcham Middle School, the late Thomas also offered her grandchildren a sneak peek into her life of service.
“I can see the collective wisdom that her grandchildren gained from her simply by exposure and having them in the room to see how you should act in all situations,” Thomas told The Informer. “There was that side of her where she could be tough, but she always reeled it in with love, admiration, and in a helping hand for her grandkids.”
