Terry Lee “Tex” Thomas passed away Dec. 3 at his home in Hines.
Terry was born Feb. 12, 1942, in Winfield, Kan., to Arthur M. and Margaret E. (Horton) Thomas.
He attended elementary through high school in Sedan, Kan. After high school, he moved to Texas and worked various jobs, including roughneck on an oil rig, roofing, and sheet metal work in Wichita Falls.
He moved to Oregon in 1960 to work for Weyerhaeuser as a high lead choker setter. In 1962, he moved to Burns to work for Andy Smerski and Smerski Logging. He discovered that logging was not his forté, and went to work for Stokey Gerber as a carpenter, building houses in Burns.
He met his future wife, Donna (Fowler), at The Tijuana Club in November 1966. They were married on Dec. 13 of that year.  They moved to Portland, arriving on New Year’s Day, 1967. They had a son, Arthur, who was born in November 1968.
During this time, Terry worked as a framing carpenter in and around Portland. In 1972, Terry and Donna returned to Burns, and established their home on Dog Mountain, where they lived for 20 years. In 1992, he completed their new home on Roanoke in Hines, where they resided up until the time of his death.
In 1976, Burns Glass was established, and in the years following, Terry and Donna served the community by providing painting services, doing small carpentry jobs, and glass work. They built a new facility at 1301 Hines Boulevard, and operated their business until 2014.
Terry enjoyed fishing and camping with his family, and spent many a night in a tent all around Oregon. He especially liked to camp at Fish Lake and Sawtooth Creek Campground. He also enjoyed hobby carpentry, woodworking, and visiting with friends, old and new.
Terry is survived by his wife of 49 years, Donna of Hines; daughter, Tandi McCleskey of Atlanta, Ga.; son, Seth of Houston, Texas; son, Arthur of  Burns; and sisters, Ginny Thomas-Perott of El Dorado, Kan., and Sharon Robbins of  Mountain View, Mo. He is also survived by a granddaughter, Michelle Johnson, of Lakeview; a grandson, Terry, of Hines; and one great-granddaughter, Violet Noel, also of Lakeview. He is also survived by three nieces and one nephew.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Margaret.
Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held at noon Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center in Burns.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to the Harney County Home Health/Hospice or the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center.