BY Geir Frivold ’81

Larry Lee Thomas ’74 had a unique gift for friendship—and he used it generously. Only after his death did I fully realize how many people, from all walks of life, counted Thomas as one of their closest friends. Through genuine relationships, quiet faithfulness, and consistent generosity, Thomas touched thousands of lives. Long after his passing, his legacy continues to answer prayers among some of the most vulnerable people in Ethiopia.

Thomas’s trajectory toward service began early. In 1970, he became a student missionary, teaching English and Bible at an Adventist middle school in Hong Kong with his close friend Robert “Bobby” Pang (SD’74). One of their students was Takkin Lo ’86, who, years later, ended up working with Thomas in an emergency department in San Bernardino. Both Thomas and Lo would later serve as presidents of the Alumni Association, Thomas from 1993–1994 and Lo from 2004–2005, an example of how Thomas’s relationships often came full circle.

After the assignment in Hong Kong, Thomas and Pang hitchhiked across Europe. One Sabbath morning in 1971, they arrived tired and travel-worn at the Tyrifjord Adventist Academy in Norway, where I was a student at the time. I noticed the two young Americans, helped arrange lodging for them, and hosted them for the weekend. Before leaving, they shared their addresses and encouraged me to look them up if I ever came to the United States.

I hadn’t planned to, but just three years later, I found myself in Loma Linda, attending San Bernardino Valley College in preparation to study at Loma Linda University. One Saturday evening, during intermission at a screening of The Sound of Music in Gentry Gym, Thomas spotted me and said, “I think we’ve met before.” That moment marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Three years later, when my roommate, Sigve Tonstad ’79-B, moved out to marry his classmate Serena Hasso Tonstad ’79-B, Thomas stopped by one evening and told me he was purchasing a condominium in Loma Linda. He asked if I would consider becoming his housemate. I explained that I could not afford the rent, but Thomas said he was looking for a reliable roommate and would make it affordable. He did. I paid no rent while I was a medical student, and our living arrangement ultimately lasted nine years, through medical school, residency, and fellowship.

Some years later, at the urging of the then chief of cardiology at the VA Hospital, David Ferry ’76-A, I returned to Loma Linda with my wife, Berit. We stayed with Thomas for a few days before our apartment was ready, and at a potluck in Oak Glen, Thomas announced with characteristic humor, “Geir and I got ourselves a wife.” He often said that while he feared losing a “brother,” he had gained a “sister-in-law,” a “nephew,” and a “niece.”

Professionally, Thomas built a career in emergency medicine, but his passion extended far beyond the hospital walls. A formative year at Newbold College (1967–68) had instilled in him a lifelong love for England, where he frequently returned. In 1987, he attended the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, an experience that broadened his vision and ignited an interest in service to vulnerable and marginalized people in the developing world. During that time, he developed close ties with All Souls Church in London and its pastors, including John Stott and Richard Bewes. These relationships strengthened his faith and inspired his service.

At age 62, Thomas took an early retirement to devote himself fully to humanitarian work, restoring sight by arranging for and funding cataract surgeries, funding life-changing pelvic repair surgeries for women, caring for patients with Podoconiosis, supporting disabled children, providing safe drinking water, and fostering creative enterprise aimed at long-term self-sustainability. He personally funded many early projects and ensured that 100% of all donations went directly to fieldwork.

When Thomas passed away suddenly in December 2020, it was Berit and I who found him. We were devastated. In time, we learned that Thomas had established a major endowment to support the continued mission of the Tropical Health Alliance Foundation (THAF).

Following Thomas’s death, the THAF board asked Peter Smars ’82, a board member since the organization’s founding in 2006, to serve as chair. Tragically, Smars died in April 2024 after a failed lung re-transplant. I was then asked by the THAF board to assume the role of chair. Having just retired from my position as a staff cardiologist at the VA hospital, I had the time and the calling to devote myself to this work, and I find deep purpose in carrying forward Thomas’s vision and legacy.

Thomas had developed a loyal community of supporters, including many LLUSM alumni, and we are humbled and inspired by your continued trust. In 2025 alone, THAF funded 3,071 cataract surgeries, 1,100 pelvic repair surgeries, six water projects benefiting more than 25,000 people, and multiple additional programs restoring dignity and hope across Ethiopia.

Thomas’s life reminds me that one person—rooted in faith, generosity, and friendship—can truly make a difference, and that even small acts of kindness can have far-reaching consequences. His legacy lives on.