Alan Thomas — the face of Manteca’s municipal golf course for four decades — has passed away.Manteca Mayor Steve DeBrum closed Tuesday night’s council meeting in memory of Thomas who was preparing to retire after serving more than 40 years as the city’s contracted golf pro.Thomas played an instrumental role in the transformation of the original 9-hole golf course built on the site of the city’s original wastewater treatment plant into an 18-hole success story that incudes arguably the grandest clubhouse for a public course in Northern San Joaquin Valley.A survey four years ago showed that Manteca had the most rounds of golf played on an annual basis of any course in the 209. Council leadership over the years attributed much of that to Thomas’ marketing and skills as the golf pro.The 67-year-old Bay Area native given his longevity in Manteca was widely viewed as the 209 Dean of Golf Pros.Thomas started playing golf growing up in San Lorenzo. During an interview five years ago, he recalled his first round ever that he played on the Lake Chabot course in Oakland.He was getting bummed because he couldn’t get the ball airborne on the first 17 holes.