Walt Thomas, Thermo King Dealer, Dies

Walt Thomas, co-owner of Central States Thermo King, died March 3, 2001, of pancreatic cancer.

He and his partner, Ronnie Kahn, purchased Central States in 1975. Over the course of 25 years, they built a business with four branches. In addition, they owned Double Check, a petroleum equipment company.

Thomas served as president of the National Truck Equipment Association in 1979 and was nominated for entrepreneur of the year in 1999.

He served on the Board of Trustees at Culver Stockton College and was active on the boards of the Leukemia Society and Cystic Fibrosis.