Richard N. Thomas, 82, of Marlborough, died Sunday, October 19, 2025, surrounded by his family and friends.

He was the son of the late John R. and Laura V. (Beaulieu) Thomas. Richard was predeceased by his brother Paul Thomas.

Richard believed passionately in education. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history at Nasson College in Maine and went on to achieve degrees at UNH, Simmons College and BU. He was particularly interested in current affairs and loved to attend lectures. He was a true intellectual: a voracious reader of weighty volumes of biographies and political analysis. In his retirement, he visited the library daily to read all the
newspapers.
He spent the early part of his career as a history teacher before returning to library school. He was the librarian at Rockport High School for thirty years. He made meaningful connections with his fellow teachers and his students, whose successes he
bragged about.
He loved everything about sports. An avid Red Sox fan, he attended minor league games and stayed up on all the upcoming prospects in the farm system. The quality of his sleep was governed by the performance of the Patriots. His love of basketball extended to his passion for the WNBA, particularly UConn and the Connecticut Sun. He cherished his memories of attending the Sun games with his granddaughters. He rarely missed his grandchildren’s soccer, t-ball, basketball, and lacrosse games.
He loved music of all kinds, catching his grandchildren by surprise with his love for Jay- Z and Lil Jon. He loved ice cream, the beach, and his beloved home state of Maine.
He was a good neighbor, listener, friend, patron, supporter and number one fan. He cherished his neighbors, the Knight family, and in the last year of his life, he made a community of new friends at New Horizons in Marlboro.
Richard is survived by his children, John Thomas and his wife April of Pennsylvania, David Thomas of Newburyport, and Karen Raleigh of Hudson; and his grandchildren, Fiona, Maggie, Ava, Katelyn and Ryan.
Visiting hours for Richard will be held on Thursday, October 30, 2025, from 5:00-7:00PM at the Slattery Funeral Home, Inc., 40 Pleasant Street, Marlborough, MA 01752. Burial services will be private. Memorial donations may be made to your local library.