48° OVERCAST, Hobart F. “Red” Thomas
Last Modified: Friday, July 3, 2009 at 9:18 p.m.
A memorial celebration for Hobart F. “Red” Thomas, will be at 2 p.m. on July 12 at the Commons on the Sonoma State University campus in Rohnert Park.
Thomas, a humanistic psychologist who helped in the creation of SSU and was an accomplished jazz pianist, died of heart failure on June 10 at a Santa Rosa board and care home. He was 85.
Thomas was one of 10 San Francisco State College professors who established an extension focusing on training teachers in Santa Rosa in 1956.
The center evolved into SSU, where Thomas helped found the psychology department and graduate program, both following the humanistic approach developed by his colleague, psychologist Carl Rogers.
Thomas also helped start SSU’s former School of Expressive Arts.
His piano repertoire spanned more than six decades, and Thomas played in numerous local bands.
Sunday’s celebration will start with remembrances by speakers, followed by a Dixieland band performance by musicians who knew Thomas, said his daughter, Annie Samuels of Santa Rosa.
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