Ronald R. Thoma, 78, retired executive, former tavern owner

Ronald R. Thoma, 78, of Churchville, a retired packaging company executive and former tavern owner, died Tuesday, March 19, of respiratory failure at home.

Born and raised in the Juniata Park section of Philadelphia, Mr. Thoma graduated from Frankford High School and Temple University by attending at night.

He retired in 2000 as a senior vice president after 46 years at Crown Cork & Seal, a packaging firm in Philadelphia.

He and his family owned and operated the Coach Dog Tavern at 1063 Street Rd. in Southampton for 23 years, ending in 1994, when it was sold and razed to make room for an Applebee's.

"It was a fun place," said Mary Thoma, Mr. Thoma's wife. "We never had to worry about underage drinking, because no one under 30 came in to listen to the country music."

In a 1987 review of local bars, an Inquirer reporter described the tavern as "friendly" with a "clean, well-lighted atmosphere."

"This is a family-type bar, and I have my children working here, and it's a place where people know each other on a first-name basis," Mary Thoma told the reviewer.

For many years, Mr. Thoma and his wife were partners in Churchville Farm, a horse-racing entity that raced many of its horses at Philadelphia Park in Bensalem. The family no longer owns racehorses.

Mr. Thoma served for 15 years on the board of directors of Delaware Valley College and 20 years on the board of what is now Aria Health. "Both asked him to come on for his business experience," his wife said.

He met the former Mary L. Garbay at Crown Cork & Seal when she was a clerk right out of high school and he, a second-shift foreman, was assigned work in the front office.

"He realized I wasn't going to be a very good secretary, so he decided to marry me," she said. They were together for 51 years.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Ronald E.; daughters Mary Ellen Bradley, Ann Gensbauer, Karen, and Patty Curran; and eight grandchildren.

A viewing will be Saturday, March 23, from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. at Joseph A. Fluehr III Funeral Home, 800 Newtown-Richboro Rd., Richboro, followed by a 10 a.m. Funeral Mass at St. Bede the Venerable Church, 1071 Holland Rd., Holland. Interment will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem.

Donations can be made to Aria Health via www.ariahealth.org.

Condolences to the family may be offered at www.fluehr.com.