Bonnie Jean Thomas

Funeral services for Mrs. Bonnie Jean Robertson Thomas, 84 of Tyler, will be held 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Tyler with Reverend Dr. Mark Braaten officiating. Burial will follow at Hopewell Cemetery in Upshur County under the direction of Croley Funeral Home in Gilmer. Mrs. Thomas passed away on Wednesday, May 13, 2015, in Tyler, Texas. The family will receive friends on Monday, May 18, 2015, at the funeral home from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. Bonnie Jean Robertson Thomas was born in Big Sandy, Texas to William Foy Robertson and Avis Dee Willis Holcomb on June 20, 1930. She was a graduate of Gladewater High School where she was active in Basketball and Volleyball, and was editor of the yearbook, Bear"s Tale. Upon graduation, she moved to El Paso, Texas to enter into retail fashion and was one of the original Clairol models in El Paso. There she met and married Arthur C. Thomas on April 15, 1950. She began working in the medical field when her children were grown, and moved to San Antonio to continue working at Humana Hospital in 1983. Wanting to be closer to her parents, she returned to East Texas and settled in Tyler in 1987. She began working at the Community Hospital until moving to ETMC where she worked until her retirement in 2008, at the age of 78. She was a devout Lutheran who loved her Lord. She was a charter member of St. Timothy"s Lutheran Church in El Paso, where she was active in the Altar Guild and community mission efforts. She was a member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in San Antonio, and a current member of Our Savior"s Lutheran Church in Tyler. Mrs. Thomas is survived by three daughters; Deborah Layland of Bastrop, Patricia Stemmermann of New Braunfels, Tracy Duplechin of Bullard; one son, Richard L. Thomas of New Braunfels; ten grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Her greatest pleasure in life was being with her family! She was preceded in death by her parents; William Foy Robertson, Avis Dee Willis and step-father, Jesse L. Holcomb; brother, James L. Robertson and niece Kathryn Ann Robertson. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to any veteran"s organization, such as Wounded Warriors of USO.