Roger Wayne Thomas, 63, of Brentwood, Tennessee, passed away peacefully on January 31, 2025, surrounded by his family. He battled cancer. He was born on July 31, 1961, to Cecil and Reva Thomas.
Roger was born in Chattanooga and lived in Nashville for the past 34 years. He graduated from the McCallie School in 1979, where he participated in wrestling and basketball. He held a degree in finance from the University of Kentucky, where he was a student manager of the basketball team. He furthered his education with joint JD/MBA degrees from Memphis State University. Upon moving to Nashville, he served as the Assistant Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, where he oversaw the regulation of the residential mortgage industry throughout the State of Tennessee. During his tenure with the TDFI, Roger served as the president of the National Association of Consumer Credit Administrators and was a board member of the American Association of Residential Regulators. He then began to pursue his passion for commercial real estate development and became a Sonic Drive-In franchisee in the states of Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. This led him to his ultimate career as a founding member and Principal Broker of Veritas Realty Group, where he continued with commercial and residential real estate throughout central Tennessee.
He was a member of Brentwood United Methodist Church and had a genuine love and devotion for helping others. Some of his favorite service projects included Room in the Inn and Habitat for Humanity.
We are comforted by the fact that Roger lived a fulfilled life, evidenced by his devotion for his careers in realty, law, and business, for his favorite teams the Kentucky Wildcats, Tennessee Titans, and Atlanta Braves, as well as his favorite artist Bruce Springsteen.
Roger loved being where the action was, which led him to seeing his favorite artist Bruce Springsteen in concert a total of 41 times over the last 40 years, where he was always in the pit and often front-row. He witnessed Secretariat’s win at the Kentucky Derby, Hank Aaron’s 500th home run, the Kentucky Wildcats' National Championship Basketball win in 2012, and Jack Nicklaus' and Tiger Woods' wins at the Masters. Many of his closest friendships were formed over shared excitement and love for live music and sporting events.
He was a devoted son, brother, husband, and father. He was preceded in death by his parents, Cecil and Reva Thomas. He leaves behind a loving family including his wife of 37 years, Teresa Scott Thomas, daughters Megan Budde (Kyle) and Lauren Thomas, grandchildren Harrison Budde and Graham Budde, sister Dr. Anita Thomas (Michael), niece Caitlin Daly (Andrew), nephew Scott Thomas, and countless other friends and family members who love and miss him.
Services were held in Nashville. In lieu of flowers, Roger requested donations be made to the American Cancer Society.