WEST NEWBURY — After 35 years in his home on historic Meeting House Hill Road, Jack Thomas was finally ready to move. His family had found a quaint, small apartment nearby, and recently begun to move his things, his son, Jay, said Tuesday.

“I guess that won’t happen now,’’ Jay Thomas said outside the charred home, his eyes bloodshot from a steady stream of tears.

Jack Thomas, 82, died Tuesday after an intense, fast-moving fire engulfed his longtime home, according to family members and neighbors. Thomas’s two sons, Jay and John, said their father lived in the two-story, single-family home alone, and moved to West Newbury, a small town north of Boston, after leaving his job as an international engineer with Raytheon.

“It’s going to take a long time to process this,’’ said John Thomas, the oldest of Jack’s six children. “He loved life as it is. He loved to play golf and loved his family.’’

Jay Thomas said his father was instrumental in Raytheon’s Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, which provides missile defense protections to America’s European allies.

“His legacy will continue to keep this country safe,’’ he said. “I’m proud.’’

John Thomas said their father enjoyed golfing and spending time with his children.

Fire officials said they have not determined what caused the fire. It began around 7 a.m. and by the time firefighters arrived about 20 minutes later had spread throughout the home, according to West Newbury Fire Chief Michael Dwyer.

Three firefighters were transported to the hospital with minor injuries from smoke inhalation, Dwyer said. The home was destroyed.

Firefighters reported “heavy smoke and heavy fire pushing from the occupancy when they arrived on scene at the front door,’’ Dwyer said.

Beth Koopman, a neighbor who lives on Meeting House Hill Road, said she saw funnels of flames spewing from the front door of the house.

Another neighbor, a former firefighter, kicked down the door and called out to Thomas, but couldn’t reach him, Koopman said.

“The flames were massive,’’ Koopman said. “It was incredible.’’

Town firefighters arrived a short time later, she said.

Thomas was a quiet neighbor who kept to himself, especially since his wife died about two years ago, Koopman said.

Glenn Kemper, a West Newbury selectman who knew Thomas for a decade, came to the house Tuesday afternoon to offer words of comfort to the Thomas family.

“It’s a sad day when you lose a fellow West Newburyian and when you lose a friend,’’ Kemper said. “My thoughts go out to his family.’’

Peter J. Ostroskey, the state fire marshal, said Thomas is the 19th person in Massachusetts to die in a fire this year. At the scene, Ostroskey said the number is unusually high for this point in the year, and he encouraged people to regularly check their smoke alarms.

As of last week, more than 60 percent of fire fatalities occurred in homes without working smoke signals, he said.

“We have to remind people to look at the alarms, make sure it has batteries, and make sure you have a home escape plan,’’ Ostroskey said.

About one-third of the deaths have been residents 65 and older, fire officials said.

Ostroskey said it was too early to pinpoint a cause in the West Newbury fire or to know whether the home’s smoke alarms were working.

On the front lawn, the Thomas family huddled together as fire officials updated them on the fire, and they embraced when officials confirmed they had discovered Thomas’s body.

At about 2 p.m., medics wheeled his covered body from the home on a gurney, as his family wept, held their heads, and quietly said their farewells.

As they surveyed the fire’s damage, John and Jay Thomas said, a golf ball rolled to their feet, which they both interpreted as a parting gesture from their father.

On Wednesday, the brothers will play a round of golf to commemorate their father’s life and will use the ball they found.

Globe Correspondent J.D. Capelouto contributed to this report. Astead W. Herndon can be reached at astead.herndon@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @AsteadWH.