In Memory of Erin Thomas
Today I learned a dear friend has passed!! 31 is much to young!! Live life people!! Erin was such a great person so loved and so loving!! I am so blessed to have been able to call her friend!! She was one of the first people I became friends with after moving to Texas!! We had plans of being on Oprah and other talk shows together and when I get there I will look up and know she is with me anyways!! R.I.P. my friend!!! June 27, 1979 – Nov 9, 2010
Erin
Below was written…
by Michael Mallinson on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 2:29pm
Erin had also just come into her own as a parent advocate with a presentation she made at the regional conference for District 12 of the Little People of America last April in Valencia, CA. Her presentation had gone so well that there was talk of her getting involved with the national organization, providing support to parents who needed advice. She and her husband had also just opened their hearts and home to three new kids who didn’t have families of their own, including a 17 year old average height boy who had immediately become the ultimate big brother to Emma.
I don’t know any actual details at this point, but what I do know that John went to wake up Erin this morning, and discovered that she had died in her sleep overnight. To the best of my knowledge, and that of many of her friends (several of whom had just spoken with her yesterday) nobody suspected that anything was wrong, and certainly nobody thought something like this was a possibility.
I am still in shock and mourning, as are the many people that she touched in her life. Her humor, her lively personality, and her insight will be sorely missed.
Good night, sweet Erin/And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. And give Joseph a hug for all of us when you get there.
I am a “what you see is what you get” kind of person, I pride myself on my honesty and loyalty. John and I both do public speaking on topics we have been through and how we got through them and how we deal on a day to day basis.
“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”
~ Helen Keller
“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”
~ Dr. Seuss
“As one person I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person.”
Erin Courtney Thomas
Abilene
Erin Courtney Thomas, 31, died Tuesday, November 9, 2010 in Abilene. Her funeral service will be held at 10:00 AM on Thursday, November 11 at Lytle South Baptist Church, 1125 E. Industrial with burial to follow in the Reflection Garden at Elmwood Memorial Park. Arrangements are with Elmwood Funeral Home.
Erin was born on July 27, 1979 in Torrance, California where she grew up and graduated from High School. She married John Thomas on April 4, 1999 in Sylvester, Texas and they have made their home in Abilene where Erin dedicated her life to being a wife and a mother and volunteering her time in the community. Through her connection with Harmony Family Services, Erin had recently begun to open her heart and home by becoming a foster parent a role which fit her perfectly. She was a member of Lytle South Baptist Church.
Erin was a kind, loving and generous person with a heart of gold and a passion for helping others in any way she could. She had an amazing sense of humor and a spunky, sassy way about her that always made you smile. She will be dearly missed.
Survivors include her husband, John of Abilene; her daughter, Emma; her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Danny and Roenna Thomas of Sylvester; her grandparents-in-law, Leon and Zenita Gardner of Sylvester; her sister-in-law, Laura Petit and husband Joe Mac Petit of Seymour; her niece and nephew, Cole and Jozie Petit of Seymour; and a host of extended family and friends whose lives she deeply touched.
Her son, Joseph Thomas, her parents, Lenus L. Garman and Brenda Billings Garman, and her sister, Heather Thomas preceded her in death.
Memorial donations are suggested to the foundation John and Erin created to honor their son, The Joseph Thomas Foundation, 1148 FM 1085, Sylvester, Texas 79560.
Your donations are welcome, thank you. If there was one thing above all else that Erin stood for, it was for medically fragile children. She loved all children, but there was a special place in her heart for these. Thanks.
Joseph Thomas Foundation
