Columbia - Mrs. Helen Louise Shuler Thomas, 87, wife of Richard W. Thomas Sr., died Friday, January 25, 2008. A Fellowship of Praise will be held in the Boyce Chapel of First Baptist Church of Columbia on Hampton Street at 2 p.m. Sunday, January 27. A reception for friends and family will follow in Ellis Hall at the church. The family will attend a private entombment preceding the service at Greenlawn Memorial Park Mausoleum. Shives Funeral Home is assisting the family. Mrs. Thomas was born in Providence on October 16, 1920. She grew up on a large family farm complex in Orangeburg County, the youngest of seven children born to the late Corrie Ann Harley Shuler and Millard Fillmore Shuler. Mrs. Thomas was a graduate of Providence High School where she excelled in the classroom and on the basketball court. She attended Winthrop College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Commerce in 1941. Mrs. Thomas taught school in the Spartanburg School District for one year before moving to Columbia in the early 1940's to work for the SC Tax Commission and the SC Highway Department. In Columbia, she met her lifelong love and husband, Richard W. Thomas Sr. of Youngstown, Ohio. They were married in the First Baptist Church of Columbia on April 20, 1944. He was stationed at Fort Jackson in preparation for World War II and a tour of duty in the European Theater where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. During the war, Mrs. Thomas worked for the State of South Carolina and was a member of the Gray Ladies Volunteer Corps at the Columbia Baptist Hospital. After the war, they built a home on Pineridge Road near Lake Katherine where they reared two sons, Richard W. Thomas Jr. of Arcadia Lakes and the late Howard F. Thomas, formerly of Atlanta. In 1985, she retired from the S.C. Department of Teacher Ce.jpgication. Mrs. Thomas loved her family beyond compare and especially her husband of 64 years. Mrs. Thomas was a dedicated Christian Southern Lady, Mother, and Friend who rarely met a stranger. She was a great southern cook and was widely known for her vanilla pound cakes, chocolate layer cakes and southern fried chicken. She loved the Lord Jesus Christ and served him in many ways. One of which was in touching the lives of countless young ladies while teaching third grade Sunday School at First Baptist Church for many years. She was also a long time member of the Rebekah Naylor Sunday School Class. Mrs. Thomas was predeceased by her parents as well as brothers, M. Fillmore Shuler of Providence, A. Odell Shuler of Providence, L. Elmo Shuler of Santee, Carl W. Shuler of Providence, Cecil W. Shuler of Arlington, Va.; and a sister, Dorine S. Douglas of Chesterfield. Surviving family members include her son, Richard W. Thomas Jr. and his wife Anne P. Thomas of Arcadia Lakes; a granddaughter, Elizabeth B. Thomas of Charleston; and grandson, R. Warren Thomas III of Columbia. Also surviving are daughter-in-law, Christy C. Thomas of Louisiana; granddaughter, Candice C. Thomas of Atlanta; grandson, Christopher W. Thomas; great-granddaughters, Tatum and Taylor Thomas of Kansas City, Mo. and numerous nephews and nieces. The family would like to thank the staff of Wildwood Downs Assisted Living for making her last years comfortable and enjoyable. She will be sorely missed because she was truly oneof those about whom Tom Brokaw wrote in his book The Greatest Generation. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be made to the First Baptist Church T V Ministry, 1306 Hampton Street, Columbia 29201. © The Times and Democrat, Orangeburg, SC, 26 Jan 2008