Hundreds attend Thomas' visitation

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PARKERSBURG, Iowa -- Hundreds of people have waited for hours in lines that stretched for blocks to attend the visitation for a slain Iowa high school football coach.

A funeral is planned for Monday for Ed Thomas, following the visitation Sunday. Thomas' sons, Todd and Aaron Thomas, say they mourned their father privately at the football fields where he held practice.

The sons said they stood at the fields near Aplington-Parkersburg High School and cried when no one was around.

Thomas was fatally shot Wednesday during a team workout. Authorities have charged 24-year-old Mark Becker, who had played for Thomas, with first-degree murder.

Thomas coached for 34 years in the community about 80 miles northeast of Des Moines and had guided several players to the NFL.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

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