Barry Thomas, the man who kept St. Louis' inimitable Evening Whirl in the black and on newsstands throughout the city for more than a decade, has died after a battle with cancer.Thomas, 57, served as the owner, publisher, president and CEO of the newspaper, taking over after the 2003 death of his father, Ben Thomas. Working from his home in California, the younger Thomas did everything from page design to writing occasional pieces to manning the site's Twitter presence, says managing editor Brian Ireland.
But the Whirl will remain the Whirl even with his passing.
Says Barry Thomas' brother, Kevin, "It was our father's wish that a family member keep the paper going.…