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Obituary: Freeman Mack Thomas: Senior Bishop in Pentecostal Assemblies of the World
Wednesday, December 23, 1998 By Lawrence Walsh, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Devoted father, distinguished preacher, dedicated mentor.
Freeman Mack Thomas of Penn Hills, the senior bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, was all those things and more.
Bishop Thomas, the pastor of the Greater Bethlehem Temple Church in Larimer, helped to found eight Pentecostal churches in Western and Central Pennsylvania.
"He was a strong Christian religious leader," said John E. Hampton of Indianapolis, administrator of the 2.5 million-member Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. "He was an outstanding preacher, a man who was well-liked and well-respected.
"He was a stabilizing force in the church, someone who always could be counted on to help out," Hampton said. "He served his church in a number of positions and he served it well."
Bishop Thomas, who rose from humble beginnings to his church's second-highest position, died Dec. 16 of age-related illnesses at Forbes Regional Hospital Monroeville. He was 92.
"He was a great man, a man of his people," said funeral director William White of the White Memorial Chapel of Point Breeze.
Bishop Thomas, a native of Pelham, Ga., was the youngest of four children. His parents died when he was 6 months old. He spent his early childhood in Tampa, Fla., where he was raised by his older sister, the late Roberta Peoples.
An uncle, Mack Thomas of Pittsburgh, wanted him to come here to become a physician. Sometime in the early 1920s, he agreed to give it a try. He packed a lunch of peaches and hambones and took the midnight train from Georgia to pursue a medical career.
But God had other plans, including marriage to Bessie Mackey, the mother of seven of his eight children.
Under the tutelage of his mother-in-law, Martha Mackey, and his pastor, Elder P.W. Washington, he began his work in the church. He was baptized in 1926, called to preach in 1933, and ordained an elder in 1936.
He opened a storefront church at the corner of Broad Street and Pacific Avenue in Garfield. In 1940, he bought an old gas station at the corner of Dearborn Street and Pacific Avenue in Garfield, remodeled it and reopened it as a church.
In 1942, he founded a church in Donora. In 1943, he founded another in Monessen. But 1943 also was a year of sadness. His wife died and he had his hands full caring for his two sons and five daughters. He remarried in 1946 and he and his late wife, Eunice, had one daughter.
He expanded his work at the end of World War II. In 1946, he established the Bethlehem Temple Tent Ministry. In 1947, he started a radio ministry and encouraged young people to sing with him during the live Sunday night broadcasts. In 1948, he was promoted from elder to district elder.
In 1950, he was elevated to a bishop of the 2nd Episcopal District. The following year he broke ground for the Greater Bethlehem Temple Church on Paulson Avenue in Larimer and officially opened it in 1953. Three years later, he built a hall next to the church. In 1985, he oversaw the construction of a community center across Paulson Avenue from the church.
In 1974, he received a doctor of divinity degree in Denver.
Bishop Thomas found time to counsel young ministers, serve as a chaplain at the Allegheny County Jail and be a member of the Pittsburgh Opportunities Industrialization Center.
"In the midst of all these time-consuming responsibilities, he remained a caring father and husband," his children said in a statement.
"He provided the climate and opportunity for all of his children to receive a college education. When he would travel and return home, he would receive an enthusiastic welcome. ... We called him [the] 'soul winner' who was always ready to baptize anyone."
Bishop Thomas is survived by two sons, Freeman L. Thomas of Verona and Dr. Lowell Thomas of Penn Hills; five daughters, Martha Naylor of Erie, Rose Marie Long of Glendale, Ariz., Betty L. Sumpter of Camp Hill, Cumberland County, and Shirley Faye Jamison Thompson and JoAnn Thomas, both of Penn Hills; 24 grandchildren; and 50 great-grandchildren.
A service was held yesterday at the Greater Bethlehem Temple Church in Larimer. White Memorial Chapel of Point Breeze handled the arrangements.
Burial was in the Allegheny Cemetery Mauseleoum, Lawrenceville.
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