Tribute to Richard Noel Thomas

It is with great sadness to announce the death of Richard Noel Thomas MRPharmS on 10 March 2016, aged 76 years.

Richard was born in Aberdare on 16 September 1939 and attended Hereford Cathedral School.

He studied at the Welsh School of Pharmacy in Cardiff, where he met his wife Ann, and registered with the Society on 1 September 1964. Richard and Ann were married in September 1964. He then worked briefly in Cheltenham before purchasing Central Pharmacy in Holyhead in October 1966.

For the next 30 years he grew a successful business with his personal approach before retiring in 1996. During this time he took an active role in Welsh pharmacy politics. He was passionate about pharmacy and believed that every citizen should have access to pharmaceutical services wherever they lived in Wales. He was a member of and chaired many committees locally and nationally, including the Welsh Central Pharmaceutical Committee, Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee, which he chaired, and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).

Once retired, he devoted more time to his local church of St Ffraid’s where he was a warden for many years.

He will be greatly missed by Ann, and by their three children and eight grandchildren.