Mary Lou Thomas

A memorial service for Mary Lou Warner Thomas, age 89 of Cookeville, TN and formerly of Elkhart, IN will be held Saturday, December 7th at 11:00 a.m. (EST) at Trinity on Jackson United Methodist Church in Elkhart. Her family will receive friends from 10:00 a.m. until service time at the church. Interment will follow at a later date in Greenlawn Memorial Park in Fort Wayne, IN. Mary Lou died Monday November 18, 2019 at Bailey Manor in Cookeville. She was born November 29, 1929 in Fort Wayne, IN to Elmer L. Warner and Helen Young Warner . She received a Bachelor's degree in 1967 from Tennessee Tech University and her Masters degree from Indiana University in 1976. She taught in the Cookeville, Tennessee are for two years before moving to Elkhart, IN and teaching in Goshen, IN at Waterford Elementary where she retired in 1994 after teaching for twenty-seven years. She was a lifetime member of NEA, ISTA, and the Goshen Teachers Association. She was a member of Trinity on Jackson Church, Four Arts Club, and the YMCA. She enjoyed reading, history, current events, traveling and storytelling. She was always concerned for the wellbeing of children and was diligent in keeping close family connections. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her son, Kenneth W. Thomas; brothers: P. Byron Warner, Gordon L. Warner, and sister, Marjorie Wakeland. She is survived by daughters, Evelyn Rice of Elkhart, IN and Paula (Wayne) Lafever of Cookeville, TN; grandchildren, Todd Rice & Stephanie Rice of Elkhart IN and Miki (Shane) Hopkins & Kara (Eric) Turney of Cookeville, TN; six great grandchildren; sister, Doretta (Bill) Gilliam of Bluffton, SC; and step-brother, Max (Donna) Wakeland of Fort Wayne, IN. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Elkhart County Habitat for Humanity, Church Community Services Elkhart IN, or Trinity on Jackson Church Elkhart, IN or Algood United Methodist Church in Algood, TN. The family would like to thank the staff at Bailey Manor and Avalon Hospice in Cookeville for their loving care of their mother. Hooper Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. (931)526-6111. Share memories and condolences at www.hhhfunerals.com.