Friends, family say farewell to a beloved ref, Dennis 'Jug' Thomason

CRAIGMONT — It wasn’t the sound of trumpets from the book of Revelation that people gathered at the Craigmont Cemetery heard Friday.

It was the shrill high-pitched blast from a flank of former basketball referees as, three times in unison, they blew their whistles in tribute to their former colleague, Dennis “Jug” Thomason.

The refs, dressed in their distinguishable black-and-white striped shirts, stood at attention as Jim Rehder of Cottonwood raised his hand for the signal and then dropped it to start the clock. The whistles blew. As did the wind whisking through the pine trees at that very moment — a coordinated goodbye from friends and nature to a well-respected, well-liked Camas Prairie man.

Thomason, 87, died Sunday after a long struggle with cancer. The gymnasium at Highland High School, where he officiated many a game, was packed with family, friends and admirers.

Thomason’s death “will leave a hole in our community that’s going to be very difficult to fill,” said the Rev. Steve Kingsley of the Craigmont Community Church.

His “was a life well-lived.”

Along with his brothers, Thomason ran Thomason Chemical Co. in Craigmont for many years. Besides being a sports umpire and referee, he was also active in the Gideons and made it his mission to get as many Bibles into people’s hands as he could. Kingsley talked about Thomason’s profound religious faith and his curiosity about scriptural truth.

Thomason and his wife, Gloria, also sang at many community events. But perhaps one of those most striking things Thomason was remembered for was his sense of humor and what his eulogists termed his “Jugisms.”

Son-in-law Howard Lunderstadt recalled how Thomason had told him once that he, Lunderstadt, was his “favorite son-in-law.” Then, to keep him on his toes, Thomason followed up by saying he was “handy as a steering wheel on a duck’s butt.”

Rehder talked about riding with Thomason and other referees to games around the region and Thomason kept them in stitches with his witty remarks, such as: “It was funnier than a skunk eating crap out of a wire brush.”

Mike Black, a former pastor at the Craigmont church where Thomason and Gloria attended, said Thomason “was about the best friend I ever had.” Black praised the many kindnesses shown to him and his family by the Thomasons when the Blacks first moved to Craigmont 50-some years ago. The two men remained close friends, even after Black, a Democrat who served in the Idaho Senate and later worked for former Gov. Cecil Andrus, moved to Boise.

“Jug did have one character flaw,” Black said. “He was a Republican.” There was much laughter from the audience.

Black said in spite of their stark political differences, he and Thomason always would talk and disagree without rancor because they trusted and respected each other.

“We wanted nothing less than the creation of the common good,” Black said.

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.