Dorothy Thomas

Dorothy A. Thomas, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008, at Chateau Girardeau.

She was born in Fairfax, Ala. Thomas was one of nine children born to Joe and Verna Adams.

Thomas loved and competed in swimming and diving as a teenager.

While working in Building No. 45, the communications center for the Ninth Naval District, as a telephone operator in Pensacola, Fla., she met and married aviation machinist mate 1st class C. Dean Thomas on March 10, 1944.

Thomas was a homemaker and lived the majority of her life with her husband in Quincy, Ill., where Dean was an executive with the Moorman Manufacturing Co. for 35 years. While in Quincy she participated in many charity events, donated her time to Blessing Hospital and was a member of PEO. Thomas was active in Scouting and the PTA. A member of Vermont Street United Methodist Church, she often said she spent more time in the church kitchen than her own. They moved to Bonita Springs, Fla., in 1985 but maintained a home in Quincy until moving to Cape Girardeau in 2004. While in Florida, Thomas actively supported the building of the new Philharmonic hall in Naples and was an associate of the First Methodist Church of Bonita Springs.

Thomas was a member of PEO chapter GF and also a member of Centenary United Methodist Church, both in Cape Girardeau.

She is remembered for her masterful entertaining skills, patience and sense of humor.

She and her husband traveled extensively and she enjoyed her five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Thomas' last European cruise coincided with her 88th birthday, culminating in a visit with children and grandchildren in New York City.

Survivors include her husband; her children, Suellyn Jane Felker and husband, Dr. Russell Felder of Cape Girardeau, Patricia Ann Taul of Dallas, C. Dean Thomas Jr. and wife, Bonnie L. Thomas, of Readyville, Tenn.; four sisters, Barbara Peek of Cedar Bluff, Ala., Evelyn Robinson of Valley, Ala., Elaine Butts and Betty Williams, both of Lanett, Ala.; a brother, Donald Adams of San Diego; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Friends may call from 9 to 10 a.m. Tuesday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Chapel.

Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the chapel, with the Rev. Jeff Long officiating.

Another visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Hansen-Spear Funeral Chapel in Quincy, with funeral following at 11 a.m. at the funeral chapel, with Rev. Lou Zuck officiating.

Any memorials can be made to the American Cancer Society.