One constant in the Thomas family has always been their faith in God.

For the last 10 years, they’ve leaned on the Lord more than ever.

One decade ago — on June 24, 2009 Aplington-Parkersburg coaching legend Ed Thomas was murdered by Mark Becker. The Thomas family’s belief in the Lord has been their guiding force as they’ve moved on from the tragedy without their loved one.

Greg Thomas, Ed’s younger brother by 18 years, is the current Humboldt athletic director and former football coach. Greg has tried to put a perspective on the senseless events that took his brother as time passes, but he always comes back to leaving it in the hands of a higher power.

“God’s plan is always the best plan,” Greg said. “God has a lot bigger plans than we can fathom.

“All the good that comes out of Ed’s death is God’s perfect plan for Ed’s life.”

With the age difference between Greg and Ed, the relationship was a lot different. Ed graduated in 1968; Greg was born in July of 1968.

“Our relationship was a lot like a father and son relationship,” Greg said. “My first memories of him were him not living at home. When he had his first teaching job, I looked forward to him coming home.

“When I got older and dad worked construction, if something went wrong, mom would put me on the phone with Ed. My dad (Roy) had the same role, too.”

Ed Thomas had a larger-than-life stature at Aplington-Parkersburg, where he coached football from 1975 to 2009. He won 292 career games, including state championships in 1993 and 2001, and guided the Falcons to 19 playoff trips. He was named the NFL’s high school coach of the year in 2005.

Even with all of his glory and accolades on the field, Ed was much more than a football coach. In 2008, when a tornado tore through Parkersburg, it was Ed who helped lead the rebuilding efforts.

Ed’s leadership and his care of other people is what Greg strives for every day.

“What he has taught me has nothing to do with Xs and Os,” Greg said. “He taught me how to treat people and to treat kids in a positive way, and to do things the right way. Kids are growing and make mistakes. Most of his examples are how he treated people.”

Ed stepped onto the football field in 1975 at Parkersburg. It would be a while before Greg got the chance to travel and watch his brother on the sidelines, but it’s something he will remember forever.

“The first time I saw him was the 1980 championship game when I was 12 years old,” Greg said. “I remember driving up there and realizing what a neat experience it was.

“I didn’t see him in that role a lot, but that was a huge part of our family’s lives.”

The coaching bug bit Greg and he landed his first head job in the fall of 1993 at Galva-Holstein. Greg went 1-8 that season and admitted things weren’t going very well.

That’s when big brother stepped in.

“I talked to Ed that summer. He said if you want to coach high school football, you better be good in the offensive line and not get beat in the secondary. That’s the way he coached,” Greg said. “He said why don’t you come over here and I’ll teach you what I know about the Wing-T and shoulder blocking. It all came down to fundamentals.

“He spent six or seven hours teaching me technique by physically coaching me. We invited Ed and his staff to run a camp at Galva-Holstein, and that’s where I learned the Wing-T and fundamentals and the offensive line.

“The next year, we went 9-2.”

All of the memories and conversations still stick with Greg. The day he got the phone that would change his life is, of course, one he will never forget.

On June 24, 2009, Ed Thomas was in the weight room working with 20 football and volleyball players when Becker — a mentally ill former player — shot him in cold blood. Becker was later charged with and convicted of first-degree murder.

Greg was headed to a conference in Des Moines with current Humboldt High School principal Lori Westhoff when his phone rang.

“Weirdly enough, my nephew, Aaron, who was the athletic director at Union LaPorte City (at the time) was going to the same meeting. I was coming out of the shower. It was 8:08 a.m. I thought it was strange for Aaron to be calling me.

“He said to me, ‘I don’t have a lot of time, but someone came in and shot my dad in the head.’ He wanted me to give my three sisters the news; he knew it was going to get on TV pretty fast.

“I was just sitting on the bed and I didn’t have the words to tell my wife, Michelle. I said a little prayer, and asked God that if he couldn’t be the Ed Thomas he needed to be, please take him home to heaven. And then I got a phone call after that … he had passed away. It will be one of those days everyone will remember. You don’t think it will happen. It’s still weird to say my brother was murdered.”

The soothing sources for Greg have been God and family.

“Our faith in God is a big part of (the healing process),” Thomas said. “Our mom (Authrine) installed that in us, and Ed lived in his faith everyday. With our faith, deep down, I know we will see him again one day.

“I take a lot of comfort in that.”

The hardest part in the 10 years since Ed’s death is the times Greg has needed advice.

“Not being able to reach out to him … that’s tough,” Greg said. “It’s hard not getting a chance to see him there for his grandkids. It’s hard not seeing him at those family functions.

“He should be there, and he’s not.”

As the 10-year date of his brother’s death approaches, Greg remembers how much of an impact Ed made on the world.

“It went nation-wide and world-wide,” Greg said. “It was a testimony to who he was. There were people standing for four hours at his funeral. Kelly Williamson summed it up the best at the funeral — ‘Ed lived his life every day knowing that, in his mind, he would meet God. And on June 24 at 8 a.m., he did. It makes it easier now — knowing he is in heaven — to deal with it.

“It’s tough to get through (June 24), but I’m reflective. It will never be the same without him, though.”