This page is dedicated to a former Chicago Rebel team mate of Ruth N. Nelson. She felt it appropriate to dedicate one of Flo Hyman pages for Verneda Thomas. The first minority on an USA Women's Olympic Volleyball team. You were such a positive role model for me and so many others; always an inspiration to see you share your knowledge among so many of us beginning in the sport. I know that you had given so much back to the sport of volleyball not only as a players but an official and many positions that you have held to develop the sport of volleyball in this country. God Bless you Verneda. 4/8/2016
Trailblazer Olympian Verneda Thomas Passes Away
April 01, 2016, 2:08 p.m. (ET)
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Chicago Rebels with Bertha Lucas,
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (April 1, 2016) - Trailblazing volleyball Olympian Verneda Thomas (Aloha and Great Lakes Region), 79, passed away Wednesday from post-surgical complications to replace a heart stent.Thomas was a pioneer in the sport of volleyball as she made the inaugural U.S. Olympic Women’s Volleyball Team roster at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, as well as only one of two active African-American players competing in USVBA Nationals at the time. She was an international elite high jumper in the 1950s, but made a quick impression when she started playing volleyball in 1960 with Chicago Rebels under legendary coach Bertha Lucas.
After the Olympics, Thomas continued to play with the Rebels before joining Locahi Hawaiians in the mid-1970s. She later transitioned to being a USA National referee in 1982 and was an FIVB qualified scorekeeper before retiring at the end of the 2012-13 season.
Thomas, fairly new to the sport in the 1960s, was tall, athletic and the only African-American on the Olympic Team in 1964. She had been a member of U.S. women’s track and field team, winning the national high jump title in 1957, and had been coached by Dr. Donnis Thompson, who would later become the University of Hawaii women’s athletic director.
“The California girls knew each other, and then there was me, from Chicago,” said Thomas, a chemist and former research associate at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, in an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in June 2014. “I was a little older (28) and we had nothing in common. And in the 1960s, it was kind of devastating as far as the racial discrimination thing. At the nationals, I couldn’t stay in the same hotel as my team. I had competed internationally in track and never had that same segregation in other countries that I encountered in the U.S.”
A memorial service will be held on April 8 from 5-9 p.m. at Nuuanu Mortuary (2233 Nuuana Ave.) in Honolulu.
Additional Bio Information on Verneda Thomas
Statement from Doug Beal, USA Volleyball CEO
"I am so very sad to pass along the news of the passing of 1964 Olympian Verneda Thomas. This is particularly sad and unfortunate as Verneda was in seemingly good health, still active and enjoying life. Apparently complications developed after a normally routine procedure to replace a stent and she passed shortly after the surgery.
"To describe Verneda as a “trailblazer” hardly does her justice, but she was surely that. She excelled in sports, but she was a warm, upbeat, outgoing and engaging person and personality. She loved the sport and led the way on the court and off, participating for her long career as a world class player and then top official and scorer. We were fortunate to be able to spend time with her recently at the 1964 Olympian reunion in 2014 and a follow up event with teammates and peers from her era.
"Verneda started in the Chicago area, eventually spending much of her life in Hawaii---like her talents and influence she spanned and cut a wide swath inside USVBA. We have lost a very special member of our family and a joy of a presence to be around. We will forward funeral arrangements as we receive them."
After the Olympics, Thomas continued to play with the Rebels before joining Locahi Hawaiians in the mid-1970s. She later transitioned to being a USA National referee in 1982 and was an FIVB qualified scorekeeper before retiring at the end of the 2012-13 season.
Thomas, fairly new to the sport in the 1960s, was tall, athletic and the only African-American on the Olympic Team in 1964. She had been a member of U.S. women’s track and field team, winning the national high jump title in 1957, and had been coached by Dr. Donnis Thompson, who would later become the University of Hawaii women’s athletic director.
“The California girls knew each other, and then there was me, from Chicago,” said Thomas, a chemist and former research associate at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, in an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in June 2014. “I was a little older (28) and we had nothing in common. And in the 1960s, it was kind of devastating as far as the racial discrimination thing. At the nationals, I couldn’t stay in the same hotel as my team. I had competed internationally in track and never had that same segregation in other countries that I encountered in the U.S.”
A memorial service will be held on April 8 from 5-9 p.m. at Nuuanu Mortuary (2233 Nuuana Ave.) in Honolulu.
Additional Bio Information on Verneda Thomas
Statement from Doug Beal, USA Volleyball CEO
"I am so very sad to pass along the news of the passing of 1964 Olympian Verneda Thomas. This is particularly sad and unfortunate as Verneda was in seemingly good health, still active and enjoying life. Apparently complications developed after a normally routine procedure to replace a stent and she passed shortly after the surgery.
"To describe Verneda as a “trailblazer” hardly does her justice, but she was surely that. She excelled in sports, but she was a warm, upbeat, outgoing and engaging person and personality. She loved the sport and led the way on the court and off, participating for her long career as a world class player and then top official and scorer. We were fortunate to be able to spend time with her recently at the 1964 Olympian reunion in 2014 and a follow up event with teammates and peers from her era.
"Verneda started in the Chicago area, eventually spending much of her life in Hawaii---like her talents and influence she spanned and cut a wide swath inside USVBA. We have lost a very special member of our family and a joy of a presence to be around. We will forward funeral arrangements as we receive them."
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Submission by Sharon R Becker, January of 2016
PHOTO: 1964 U.S.A. Women's Volleyball Team Back: Jean Gaertner, Lou Sara Galloway, Jane Ward, Linda Murphy, Barbara Harwerth, Verneda Thomas, Nancy Owen, Mary Jo Pepper. Front: Coach Dr. W. P. Burroughs, Patty Bright, Sharon Peterson, Gail O'Rourke, Mary Perry, manager Ida Litschauer. |
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THOMAS, Verneda Estella
Posted By: Sharon R Becker Date: 1/31/2016 at 12:33:05 Verneda Estella Thomas, 2014 Graceland University, Lamoni, Iowa Verneda Thomas was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 21st, 1936, the youngest of twelve children for Russell and Verneda Thomas. An irrepressible and active child, she quickly found an outlet for her energy in athletics at the YMCA. Getting her start in track, Thomas joined the Chicago Comets track team and was soon traveling across the country for meets. The Comets were an integrated team which, in the 1950s, imposed serious challenges for nationwide travel and brought Verneda face-to-face with the stark realities of segregated America. Bravely facing those challenges, Thomas proved to be a standout high jumper and, at 17, won the AAU championship and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Joining the 1956 Pan American Games track team, Verneda got her first taste of international competition in the high altitude of Mexico City. In her post-high school career, Verneda's high jumping took her across the world to compete on behalf of her country. Struggling to crack the top spot in the high jump, an unsatisfied Verneda transitioned to volleyball. After getting used to the game, Thomas and some companions from the YMCA formed a club called the Chicago Rebels. The Rebels were a Great Lakes powerhouse, and once again, sport took Verneda to new and exciting places. After a strong showing at the national tournament, she was picked for the 1964 U.S. Olympic team, bound for the Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. Verneda remained active in volleyball after her Olympic experience. In 1972 she arrived at Graceland in hopes of furthering her education and starting a career outside of sports. She was an assistant coach for the men's volleyball squad, and remained active on the club circuit, playing with Jacket men's players. She graduated in 1973, but not before Graceland's winter term program sent her to Honolulu to work at a cardiovascular research lab. The lab offered her a job upon graduation, and Thomas has become a pillar of the Hawaiian community in the subsequent forty years. She worked at Queen's Medical Center as a research associate and then as a surgical technician until her retirement in 1996. Volleyball stayed a part of Thomas' life. She became a national official in 1982 and remains active in officiating. She returns to the mainland every year for volleyball championships and to visit her family. Verneda was inducted into Graceland's Yellowjacket Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. SOURCES: gujackets.com/f/Hall_of_Fame.php; gujackets.com/roster.php Submission by Sharon R Becker, January of 2016 |
The above photos have been provided by Karen Campbell
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