Julia Thomas; Times Woman of the Year

Julia Hayward Thomas, named a Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year in 1956 for her lifetime charitable and philanthropic work, has died. She was 95.

Mrs. Thomas, born and raised in the first residence built on Wilshire Boulevard, died Jan. 26 in Newport Beach.

In 1955, Mrs. Thomas christened the aircraft carrier Saratoga, launched when her late husband, Charles Sparks Thomas, was secretary of the Navy.

During her husband’s term as secretary from 1954 to 1957, Mrs. Thomas accompanied him around the world inspecting military conditions, and traveled the nation campaigning for President Dwight D. Eisenhower and other candidates.

In Los Angeles, Mrs. Thomas served as president of the Junior League, St. Margaret’s Guild of St. James Episcopal Church and St. James Women’s Auxiliary.

For seven years she was president of Los Angeles’ Florence Crittenton Home, part of a national network of homes for unwed mothers. Mrs. Thomas was a member of the organization’s national board of directors. After moving to Newport Beach in the mid-1950s, she served as president of the Orange County Florence Crittenton Services.

In 1961, she was elected the first president of Orange County’s Angelitas de Oro, a women’s auxiliary to benefit Big Brothers. She was one of the first women to serve on the Big Brothers board.

She also served on the national board of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and the board of the Hillside House school in Santa Barbara.

Mrs. Thomas is survived by two sons, Hayward and Roger, a daughter, Julia Alexander, nine grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

The family has asked that memorial donations be made to Hillside House, 1235 Veronica Springs Road, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93103.