Mr. Larry Reni Thomas of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, formerly of Wilmington, departed this earthly life on Friday, June 30, 2023. A Memorial service will be held at 11AM on Saturday, July 15, 2023, at Union Missionary Baptist Church, 2711 Princess Place Drive, Wilmington, North Carolina.
Larry Reni Thomas, a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, is a writer/radio announcer/lecturer based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who has worked at seven radio stations and whose journalistic work has appeared in downbeat and The New York Times Magazine. He is the author of The True Story Behind The Wilmington Ten and Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit!: A Fictional Account of The Wilmington Ten Incident of February 1971. Thomas also wrote The Lady Who Shot Lee Morgan, an article that included an exclusive interview with North Carolina native, Helen Morgan, who killed the 33-year-old jazz trumpet legend. Thomas’ lecture, The Carolina Jazz Connection With Larry Thomas, has been presented at schools, colleges, universities, libraries and public places since 2008, and he was also listed in the downbeat magazine jazz critics poll for 2012. Larry is presently writing a history of The Barn: Wilmington, North Carolina Jazz Mecca (1945-50). He is also featured in the documentary films: Wilmington On Fire and American Jazz Musician.
