James Earl (Jimmy) Thomason, age 78, of Panama City, passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 13, 2016.

Jimmy was born on November 14, 1937, in Panama City, FL, to Weston and Grace King Thomason.  He attended Panama Grammar, Jinks Jr. High, and was a 1955 graduate of Bay High School.  As a boy, he delivered newspapers for the News-Herald and after graduation, joined the U.S. Navy, serving on the USS Dixie in San Diego, CA, and was stationed in Kodiak, AK.   After serving one term in the Navy, he returned to Panama City and worked briefly for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and then transferred to the U.S. Postal Service where he worked for many years.   Jimmy was an avid Gator fan, loved baseball and he served for several years as a Little League coach for Tommy Thomas Chevrolet and Dixie Window.

Jimmy loved the outdoors, working in his yard and had a knack for making things grow…he had a "green thumb" inherited from his mother and grandfather, Albert King, and how he loved yard sales.  He loved Bay County, had a remarkable memory and loved to reminisce about the "good old days" in Panama City.

Jimmy was a member of First Baptist Church, Downtown Kiwanis Club, delivering Meals on Wheels, was always the top ticket salesman for the Annual Kiwanis Pancake Drive, and also volunteered his services to Emerald Coast Hospice and the Salvation Army.

Jimmy was predeceased by his parents, a brother, Darrell Wallace Thomason, brothers-in-law, Bill Manis and John Moore, and two nephews, Michael Lee Thomason and Darrell Wallace Thomason, Jr.

He is survived by one brother, Ronald Weston Thomason (Barbara) of Savannah, GA, two sisters, Jo Manis and Edna Capri (Art)of Panama City,  an uncle, William Bassett King of Chattahoochee, FL, many nieces, nephews, and cousins…his special friend, Gladys, and many other cherished friends.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, October 17, at 11.a.m. with family viewing from 10 to 11 a.m. at Wilson Funeral Home with Rev. Jim Hankins and Rev. Bob Daffin officiating.  Graveside services will be held at 2:30 p.m. at Hatcher Cemetery, Portland, FL.  Active pallbearers will be his nephews, Ronald Thomason, John Thomason, Stephen Thomason, Glenn Manis, Zack Leonard, and Luke Leonard. Honorary pallbearers will be the Bay High Class of l955 and the Panama City Kiwanis Club.

Those desiring may make memorial donations to the American Cancer Society or to Calvary Baptist Church at 1529 Mulberry Ave., Panama City, FL, in memory of Jimmy Thomason.