Mae Elizabeth Thomas' Obituary
Mae Elizabeth Thomas
Born: 8 August 1923
Departed: 12 September 2016
Mae Elizabeth Bell was born in Alameda on August 8, 1923 to William and Inez Bell. She was born at 1732 Buena Vista Avenue, Alameda, CA in a house her father William built. She was the middle child with an older brother named William and a younger brother named David. Her mother died of pneumonia when she was 3 years old. She was raised by her grandparents, Davis and Elizabeth Sloan as it was thought improper for her to be raised in a household of men, without her mother, She lived 3 blocks away from her father and brothers at 1819 Grand Street in Alameda. David Sloan owned this home and supported his family with a whitewashing business.
Her grandparents moved to the Bay Area from Greenville, South Carolina in the 1880s and were one of the first African American families in the San Francisco Bay Area. For many years, the Davis Sloan family was showcased in the Oakland Museum. Mae became a caretaker early in her life—from 12 years old she cared for her beloved grandmother following a stroke and until her grandmother’s death in 1939. She always spoke lovingly of her grandmother and the many life lessons she learned from her, including generosity and kindness. She attended Height Elementary School and Alameda High School,
She met and later married Eugene Thomas Sr., on January 16th in 1943. Eugene had hobo’ed on railroad cars from his birthplace in Texarkana, Texas to the Bay Area. They were married in Reno, Nevada and became the parents of 7 children. For most of their married life, Eugene worked as a horse trainer and a unionized construction worker. Mae was a homemaker, mother and devoted grandmother.
In 1972 she began working outside the home as a teacher’s aide at Haight Elementary School. She worked for Emporium Capwell in Downtown Oakland as a sales associate and financial analyst. Much to Eugene’s surprise, she became financially and emotionally independent, even taking a trip to Hawaii with a co-worker named Ingrid. When Eugene passed from a long bout of cancer in 1986, they had been married for 43 years. She continued to work at Emporium Capwell until she became a full time grandmother, helping To raise all of her grandchildren who lived in Alameda. In fact, at the age of 79 in 2001, she moved to Kirkland, Washington and spent a year looking after her then youngest grandchild.
Mae’s love for and devotion to her children and grandchildren is family legend. And just like the lyrics from Bill Withers’ song, Grandma’s Hands, she clapped in church on Sunday mornings. She was as they say a “God fearing” woman and deeply spiritual. She believed in doing The right thing, all the time, even when no one was looking. Her final church home was King Solomon Baptist Church when Arthur Moore was the Pastor. She was The church treasurer for more than 20 years and put her meticulous book keeping skills to good use. Grandma always had money for treats and kept coloring books, playdoh and trinkets at her home. Her sweet potato pies and blackberry cobblers were the highlights of holiday meals.
Mae loved to travel and visited Hong Kong, London, Boston, Dallas and many other cities. She devoured romance novels, diet sodas and Hostess Berry Pies. Many of her grandchildren inherited her love of sweets…chocolates, peppermint and coffee with so much sugar it resembled syrup. Mae played slot machines like a pro, always saving her winnings for her grandchildren. She also enjoyed soul music and would dance up a storm when she had the chance, most notably at a surprise 70th birthday party dancing with each of her 3 sons to Lionel Richie’s “Three Times a Lady.”
Mae was an avid “puzzler” – crossword, brain teasers, anything she could get her hands on. She was extremely well read, reading 2 daily newspapers. Her grandsons delighted in her detailed knowledge of sports and ability to follow a variety of teams. Her favorite tennis player is Roger Federer, and of course both of the Williams sisters.
She is survived by all seven (3 boys and 4 girls) of her children—Eugene Thomas Jr., William
Charles Thomas, Denise Thomas, Lasandra Thomas, Daryl Lee Thomas, April Lynne Thomas and Hazel Rachelle McDaniel, 2 daughters-in-law – Carolyn Thomas and Jessica Thomas as well as 3 sons-in-law — Dexter McDaniel, Bruce McDonald and Terry Johnson. Her grandchildren range in age from 40 to 7 years old—Toyla, Rita, William Jr., Raymond, Alycia, Jordan, Connor, Ava,
Stephan, Jeremy. Dexter Jr., Lauryn, Joshua. Mae is also survived by 8 great grandchildren—Bria, Chauncey, Christian, Cameron, Adrian, Leilani$ Aria and Edward. She is survived by her lifelong friends—cousin Tresleyan Brock and sister-in-law Mary Bell, as well as nieces and nephews.
Mae was blessed with wonderful health, an independent spirit and lived on her own until she was almost 90. She survived a broken hip at 90 and began using a walker. Mae loved to gently bounce her legs, covered in a blanket so often that one of her sons started referring to her as Linus (from Peanuts fame). She passed of no particular health issue, just a well lived life and an earthly body that needed to rest. Mae left us peacefully and her presence endures, felt by the many family and friends with gratitude and love.
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