Roger William Thomas

Roger William Thomas, 62, of Charlotte, passed away Saturday, December 13, 2025, at Sunrise Assisted Living Center in Charlotte.

Roger was born May 5, 1963, in South Carolina to the late Ralph Porter Thomas and the late Sara Jean Moss Thomas.

The family will receive friends from 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm, Saturday, December 20, 2025, at First Baptist Church of Albemarle. A memorial service will follow at 2:00 pm officiated by Rev. John Futterer.

Roger was born and raised in Gaffney, SC. Growing up in Gaffney, Roger attended Cherokee Avenue Baptist Church as a child and was a champion in Bible drill. In high school, he began writing his own plays and was a proud member of the Gaffney High School marching band, playing the xylophone.

After graduating high school, Roger received a BA in religion at Furman University and was a member of the Phi Mu Alpha music fraternity, later attending the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Louisville, KY. There he earned an MA of divinity in 1988, and shortly thereafter became a licensed and ordained minister.

In Roger’s professional career he served as the youth pastor at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Union, SC; the minister of education and Youth at First Baptist Church in Duncan, SC, and as the senior pastor of Lowries in Chester, SC; NorthEast Baptist in Atlanta; First Baptist Church in Albemarle, NC; and First Baptist Church in Mount Gilead, NC, respectively. During his time at FBC Albemarle he received his Doctorate from Gardner Webb University.

Roger’s pride and joy was being a father to his two children, SaraKate and Henry, and to his litter of neighborhood cats.

Second to his family, Roger had a love for movies and cinematography. After moving to Albemarle, he wrote movie reviews for the Stanly News and Press (now the NorthEast Journal) and became a member of the NC Film Critics Association. Roger also had a fervor for hosting, annually holding his Oscars and Christmas parties at his home in Albemarle.

Roger’s strength was his ability to build community and make friends wherever he went. In the last years of his life, Roger was noted for the affection and kindness he showed the people who cared for him at Sunrise assisted living facility in Charlotte, NC.

Survivors include daughter, Sara Kate (Andrew) Howard; son, Henry Thomas; brother, Richard (Hilda)Thomas.

Hartsell Funeral Home of Albemarle is serving the Thomas family.