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Susan Carol Thomas died peacefully on February 18, 2023 following a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She was 76 years old. Susan was born to T H and Judy Wade in Austin, TX on July 22, 1946. She had an idyllic classic Austin childhood, living in Hyde Park, participating in the Girl Scouts, traveling on numerous family vacations and going to Camp Mahaba in Belton each summer. Susan was enrolled in Centenary College in Shreveport, LA when her father died tragically in January 1966. She returned to Austin and attended the University of Texas. In the fall of 1967, she met a Texas A&M cadet on a blind date in College Station. She married David Lee Thomas on January 25, 1969. They would remain together until her husband’s death in 2021. Being the wife of an Army officer was exciting and challenging. They soon moved to West Germany, where she gave birth to a son, David Dalton Thomas, in 1971. They moved often as her husband attended military schools. Daughter Julie Rebekah Thomas was born in Killeen in 1975. The family also lived in St. Louis, returned to Germany for three years, and Fort Leavenworth before returning to the Fort Hood area. Susan, who had a life-long love of reading, became a librarian – often specializing in children’s books – and held storytelling events in the libraries where she worked. When she was at home, she preferred reading to watching TV. After her husband retired from the Army, she was devoted to helping him with his woodworking business run out of their home near Gladewater, TX. Susan and her husband moved to Pilot Point, TX in 2018 following her Alzheimer’s diagnosis. In 2020 she moved into the Just Like Home care facility in Whitesboro, TX, where she received excellent and loving care. Susan was loved by lifelong friends and her family. She is survived by her son, David Thomas of Austin; daughter, Julie Tullos of Pilot Point; daughter-in-law, Shannon Thomas; son-in-law, Tony Tullos; and five grandchildren, Matthew, David and Amy Thomas and Alizabeth and Skylar Tullos. The family extends love and gratitude to the past and current employees of Just Like Home in Whitesboro and the employees of Dignity Hospice. A visitation will be held 5:00pm-6:00pm, Friday February 24, 2023 at the Slay Memorial Chapel in Aubrey, TX. A private burial will be held at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, TX at a later date. On-line condolences may be shared at www.slaymemorialfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Susan’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org). Arrangements are under the direction of Terri Slay and Slay Memorial Funeral Center.

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Susan Carol Thomas

July 22, 1946 - February 18, 2023