Yoho, Thomas Homer

BYESVILLE [OH] --- Thomas Homer Yoho, 72, retired farmer of Byesville R. D. 1 [OH] died at St. Francis Hospital late Thursday night. The body was removed to Herlan-McGaughy Funeral Home.

A son of Mr. and Mrs. William Yoho, he was born in Noble County [OH] on July 3, 1883. He was a member of the Assembly of God Church.

Surviving are his widow, Ethel; a daughter, Mrs. Bernice Williams of Byesville; a son, Herbert Yoho of Gainesville, Fla.; six step-children, Mrs. Martha Berry of Marietta, Mrs. Wanda Hamilton of Byesville R. D. 1, Lewis, David and Richard Wilson, all of Byesville, and Clifford Wilson of Gallipolis; two grandchildren, and seven step-grandchildren.

His parents, three brothers and a sister are deceased.
(6 Oct 1955, Furnished by Terry Willis)

Yoho, Thomas Lindsey

T. L. YOHO, 66 OF WOODLANDS FOUND DEAD AT HIS HOME

Thomas Lindsey Yoho 66, a resident of Woodlands RD 1 [WV], was found dead yesterday morning at his home.

He was a member of the Clouston church and was a prominent resident of Marshall county.

Surviving are his wife Ella Marcella Yoho; two daughters, Ruth Cozart of Proctor, and Olive Marcum, of Pontiac, Mich.; a son, Dr. Noel Yoho of Moundsville; two brothers, Okey and Joe Yoho both of Moundsville; and a sister Mrs. Sue Coffield of New Martinsville, and four grandchildren. The body is at the Lutes funeral home, 1109 Second street. It will be removed to the late home this evening, where services will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. Rev. E. P. Schaich of the Moundsville Christian Church will be in charge. Interment will be in Fairview church cemetery, Franklin district.

(Source: Moundsville Daily Echo - 1 July 1952 - furnished by Clarice Stanley)

Note: The obituary says found dead "yesterday morning" - but Court House Record shows 1 July 1952. Did he actually die June 30, 1952? I checked my Computer Calendar for 1952 and July 1, 1952 is Tuesday! We could check Social Security Records. I assume date of the Echo was 1 July 1952, as that is the way Vernon Anderson recorded all the dates of the newspaper, on the back of the pages he copied. 1 July 1952 is the date of the Echo in this instance. (Clarice Stanley)

Thomas, R. David

R. David Thomas

Born: Abt. 1932 in Atlantic City, NJ
Died: 8 Jan 2001, Fort Lauderdale, Broward Co., FL

AKA: Called, Dave

ADOPTION: R. David Thomas was adopted by Rex and Auleva Thomas of Kalamazoo, MI.

COMMENT: This is R. David Thomas, otherwise known as, Dave Thomas. He was the founder of the hamburger chain, "Wendy's," which was named after his daughter, Wendy. The television commercials for Wendy's were famous because Dave Thomas himself appeared in many of them. Some of them were quite humorous and often poked fun at Dave.

RELATIONSHIP: The grandchildren of R. David Thomas were: Kristin Marie Thomas, Michael David Thomas, Sean David Thomas, Ashley von Floto, Andrew von Floto and Allyson Farber.
QUESTION: Who were the parents of the Floto and Farmer grandchildren?


BIOGRAPHY:
R. David Thomas (Dave) never knew his birth parents. He was adopted by Rex and Auleva Thomas from Kalamazoo, Michigan when he was six weeks old. Auleva died when he was five and he spent most of his childhood moving from state to state as Rex sought work. Summers he spent with his adoptive grandmother and it was from her that he learned many of the lessons that were to serve him well in life.

When Dave was a cook at a restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, he married a waitress, Ina Louise Buskirk, whose Buskirk and Baker roots could be traced to Belmont Co., Ohio.

Dave worked for Harland Sanders and managed some of his Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Columbus, Ohio which we doing poorly. He was very successful in this endeavor and sold his interest for over a million dollars at age 37. He always dreamed of owning his own restaurant and he opened the first Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers restaurant on November 15, 1969 in downtown Columbus, Franklin county, Ohio. He named the resturant after his eight-year-old daughter, Melinda Lou, who had been nicknamed, "Wendy" by her older brother and sisters.

Dave Thomas was an adoption advocate. He founded The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992 to promote and facilitate adoption. Wendy's had a close relationship with the foundation. In 1996, Mr. Thomas was credited by President Bill Clinton with helping to win passage of the legislation that gives adoptive parents a one-time tax credit of $5,000. He also was credited with promoting the 1997 legislation that sought to speed the adoption process.

In 1991-1992 he published the best-selling, "Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-Fashioned Success."

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas had five children and 16 grandchildren.

Additional information and pictures regarding Dave Thomas and the history of Wendy's is available on the Wendy's website: http://www.wendys.com.
(Furnished by Valerie Kramer, with additions by Richard E. Henthorn)