WEST JORDAN, Utah -- Donald Thomas, the Church security officer slain in the April 15 shooting rampage at the Family History Library, was remembered at his funeral as a hero, caring husband and gentle father known affectionately to neighborhood children and youth as "Daddy Don."
President Gordon B. Hinckley presided at the April 19 service in the West Jordan Utah Westbrook Stake Center. Others of the General Authorities were in attendance.In his funeral address, President Hinckley said the officer was often on duty at the Church offices. "He always greeted me, always said good morning, good afternoon."
Brother Thomas, 62, was "a man of experience who knew what was expected of him and who met those expectations, but it was never expected that he would be asked to give his life as he handled his duty," President Hinckley said.
"Impelled by a sense of duty, he stepped forward when the assailant's shots were ringing out, only to be shot himself. He is the only instance of a Church security officer being killed while on a tour of duty except for a night watchman at the Arizona Temple. He could give no more. He gave his all. Every one of us is in his debt."
President Hinckley commented on the tragedy, in which a library patron, Patricia Irene Frengs, 55, of Pleasant Hill, Calif., also died. The assailant, Sergei Babarin, 70, of Salt Lake City, died in a gunfire exchange with police. Three others were hospitalized and a police officer was wounded slightly. (Please see April 17 Church News.)
President Hinckley expressed gratitude to the Church security officers and the peace officers who joined the effort to rescue those endangered in the library.
Speaking for the entire Church, President Hinckley conveyed sympathy to those who mourn the passing of Brother Thomas and Mrs. Frengs and to those seriously wounded. He gave commendation to those who were in the library when the incident occurred and who acted bravely and wisely.
"This entire episode was gruesome and terrible, and we hope that we shall never experience another such thing," he said. "It has brought our Church Security officers to a recognition of the fact that they face constant danger. We extend our appreciation to each of them and pray for the protecting blessings of the Lord over them."
Reflecting on Brother Thomas' life makes one realize the burdens that so many people carry, who have performed demanding duties at home before they ever arrive at work, President Hinckley commented. In the case of Brother Thomas, his wife, KonaDee, was stricken years ago with multiple sclerosis and, confined to a wheelchair, required his care.
"We pray, Sister Thomas, that a way may be found to provide for you that which Don did so generously and with such a full measure of love," he said. "To your family, we say that the time has come to stand tall, to assume responsibility and to carry burdens sometimes difficult to carry."
"We pray that with all the sorrow that has visited this family, there may be a measure of peace and love and sustaining power of the Lord. In all these circumstances, there is only one source of comfort; one source of reassurance. That source is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. When all else fails, when our hopes and dreams are shattered, when death strikes with certainty and finality, there is the voice of the Lord speaking to the sorrowing heart and to all mankind. . . .
"None other can give such assurance. There is no other promise like His promise. God has not created us to be born into this world to grow and live and then die into oblivion. Don is gone. We do not understand it, but we have the faith to know that because of his going, others will be blessed. He will prepare a place for those he loves, and he will expect each of you to live worthy of that place."
Bishop Jeffrey R. Hill of the Westbrook 1st Ward, who conducted the service, said, "Don was a kind and gentle man who had a great love for people. . . . As I've witnessed so many times, I picture him now touching the cheek of a child, embracing them, as he pulled them to his knee. He spent his last evening with his grandchildren, I'm sure an event they will never forget."
In a eulogy, daughter Tami Schmidt said her father tried to follow the Savior in all he did, even in the circumstances of his death. She said, "It was a horrible way to die, but because of it, other people lived and will remember him forever."
She said she is certain that as he passed on to the other side, her father said of the man who shot him, "Father, forgive him, for he knows not what he does."
A son, Kory Thomas, said: "I find myself humbled every time I think of the situation and the kind of man my father was. If he was able to be in contact with the spirit of the man who took his life, he would be the kind of soul to have his arm on his shoulder saying, 'Sir, I understand you were confused, you were misunderstood, and you didn't know what you were doing.' "
Phil Cook, a friend and home teacher to the Thomas family, said Brother and Sister Thomas were both returned missionaries when they married and that she, active in the Church and community, was "quite a catch." In her child-bearing years she was beset with multiple sclerosis, a circumstance that puts a strain on any marriage and family. Through it all, Don remained devoted to his work, but most important to his family and especially his wife, he said.
The congregation filled the chapel and the entire cultural-hall overflow area. Bishop Hill announced that representatives of many law-enforcement agencies were in the congregation and would provide a motorcycle escort for the funeral cortege, an especially significant tribute considering Brother Thomas was not of their ranks.