Thomas was killed when an out-of-control cement truck crossed the median of Southeast Loop 410 in San Antonio and slammed head-on into the cab of Thomas’ 18-wheeler, which was pulling a Wal-Mart trailer. His funeral services are pending with Harper-Talasek Funeral Home.

“About 4 they called his family, but they didn’t really give any information,” Michael Garza, Thomas’ brother-in-law, said. “We started to drive up to San Antonio then we got word it was him.”

It was Thomas’ first day on the job for Greatwide Logistics Services.

“He’s been driving trucks all his life,” Marcus Garza said about the man married to his sister, Victoria. “He started working with his dad. He worked for Waste Management.”

Yet, what the brothers remembered about Thomas was his love of football - he played a year of semi-pro football - and a friendly spirit.

“If you said a couple of words to him, he’d strike up a conversation,” Michael Garza said. “He was real talkative, real friendly.”

When Thomas began to date his sister, Michael Garza said he tried to pull the older brother routine and be mean to him.

“It was real hard not to like him,” he said.

The two became friends, even if a slight competitive spirit remained.

“When I got the TV, I had to make sure it was bigger than his,” Michael Garza said gesturing to his 55-inch big screen television. “He went with me to pick it up. It ended up being the same size.”

A helping spirit involved Thomas throughout the family.

“Our grandparents, he’d always go over there to help them, even if it was to work on a lawn mower that didn’t really need it,” he said.

Thomas’ helping hand even extended toward the disc jockey hired to play at the Garza brothers’ grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary.

“The DJ pulled up and Joey ran to help him unload,” Michael Garza said. “I said that’s what we’re paying him for. Through the night the DJ would ask him what he wanted him to play.”

Yet, it was the love of his family above all else that the brothers recalled.

“He just worked real hard to take care of my sister and my nephew,” Michael Garza said.

“He was a great dad, a great brother-in-law,” Marcus Garza said. “I don’t think there’s anybody else in the world that would treat my sister the way he did.”

Thomas pursued their sister, wrangling her telephone number from one of her friends and wouldn’t give up when she tried to brush him off.

“He made my sister fall in love with him,” Marcus Garza said.

“My sister wanted everyone to know he was a really good dad; he was a really good husband,” Matthew Garza said. “My family loved him.”

The brothers said their uncles, who have been truck drivers, would tell him that it was not a good life to be on the road.

“He was drawn back to it,” Michael Garza said. “He would come back.”

On those trips, Thomas would often take family members. Marcus Garza remembers spending two weeks traveling with him in February before leaving for Navy boot camp. He also remembered their conversations.

“He just wanted to have his own truck, start his own company,” he said.

Marcus Garza also remembered talking about Thomas’ 1-year-old son, Austin.

“He had so many ideas of what he wanted to do for his son, Austin,” he said. “He wanted to put him in private school so he would get a good education so he wouldn’t drive a truck.”

Michael Garza said the family would miss Thomas.

“We’ll not be able to replace him,” he said. “We’ll do our best to make sure his son knows how much he loved him.”

jsicking@temple-telegram.com