Elaine Esther Andrews Thomas, daughter of John Heckmond Andrews and Mary Mabel Tamkin, was born on January 31, 1927 along Narrow Passage Creek in Calvary, Shenandoah County, Virginia and passed away on July 15, 2017 in Bentonville, Virginia.
Elaine was married to LeRoy Wesley Thomas for 68 years before his death in 2015.
She graduated from Washington and Lee High School in Arlington, where she “loved to giggle, had abundant energy,” as quoted in her yearbook. In the 1940s, she worked as a proof-reader at the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C., where she met LeRoy.
A longtime founding member of Virginia Hills Baptist Church in Alexandria, Elaine volunteered as the church secretary for nearly thirty years. Raising two sons with LeRoy, Elaine took her family to Virginia Hills Church whenever the doors were open.
She loved the Massanutten Mountain, camped along Passage Creek from childhood through the 1970s, and moved back to the Shenandoah Valley in 1987, where she lived in her father’s cabin in Warren County.
Although she experienced much loss, including the death of her mother at age 7, Elaine was a smiling, happy, and grateful people person who everyone loved. Her response to nearly everything in life was “well isn’t that wonderful,” which was a reflection of her grateful spirt and belief that time shared with family and friends was a blessing. Everyone who met Elaine loved her right away; she was a very special person to so many people and will be missed.
As “Nano,” she spent her retirement taking her grandchildren on trips, having fun picnics along Passage Creek at Elizabeth Furnace, studying the Bible, and leading Sunday School classes. She enjoyed get-togethers with family and friends, hosting gatherings at her Corron Drive cabin, such as the Tuesday Club of Virginia Hills Church, Apple Butter making with family, and the Andrews-Ritenour Reunion.
She also was a member of First Baptist Church of Front Royal for over twenty years.
Surviving are two sons Paul Thomas and wife Sheila of Front Royal and Gary Thomas and wife Pam of Kill Devil Hills, NC; four grandchildren Joshua Thomas and wife Stefani, Ian Thomas and wife Christy, Ben Thomas and wife Jeree, and Sarah Elaine Thomas; and two great-grandchildren Ben Witol and Madison Meeks; and two nieces Sally Gudas and Vicki Razick.
Arrangements are by Maddox Funeral Home, Inc. in Front Royal, VA. Services will be private. Memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Church of Front Royal, Virginia.