Thomas Frank Nobles
Born: Van Nuys, CA, June 12, 1960
Died: VA Medical Center, Hospice, Biloxi MS, September 27, 2017



Thomas was preceded in death by his Father and Grandparents. He leaves behind his two children and two grandchildren; his mother, three half-sisters, a half-brother, an uncle and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Thomas was adventurous from a little boy. He liked snakes and caught several, including two rattlesnakes. One he brought home was later donated to the Survival Unit museum at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola, FL.
At the young age of 4 he instinctively knew how to swim, even underwater. While a teenager Thomas took diving lessons, which he paid for himself, and became a certified diver. Soon he was jumping off the Pensacola Bay Bridge to go spear fishing. Many times he brought home dinner. Thomas always loved the water. One summer he water skied 22 miles before going down. No Joke!
He loved his grandfather and they spent many hours together: fishing, learning carpentry and probably things he didn’t need to know, like making snake cages.
Thomas had an interest in almost everything. His first job was cutting lawns and later he worked at a nursery. One summer he worked on his uncle’s shrimp boat traveling through the Gulf of Mexico all along Florida’s coast. In his later teens he was a volunteer fire fighter in Navarre, FL. He enjoyed orchids and at one time grew several; bringing them back form Walmart’s kiss of death. He was a great shot with his BB gun; at one time shooting a squirrel through the ear. He was so proud, we had the squirrel mounted for him.
Thomas became a deep diver in the Army. He held that position until a military accident necessitated that he and his buddy could no longer dive. With all the physical trauma he incurred in the military, and including PTDS, he was eventually designated 100% disabled. Thomas yearned for deep water, all the fish and corals, the rest of his life. He worked with the medics after that accident and following his discharge worked at a local hospital for a while. His fascination with the medical world never ended. He studied online incessantly; sometimes thinking he knew current information more accurately than the doctors.
Thomas married soon after boot camp and started a family. The one thing his heart wanted most was a stable and loving family of his own. Though not always successful, he tried again and again, especially for the children. Like most humans, Thomas gave all his family both heartache and joy, both exasperation and pride.
The last few years of his life he continued to enjoy his family, the guitar and internet skyping with friends. He had found a new interest in gems and was learning the tumbling technique necessary before cutting, shaping and polishing the gem stones.

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