Izora Kathleen Loyd Thomas, 98, of Ocilla died Saturday, October 6, 2007 at Palemon Gaskins Nursing Home in Ocilla.
Funeral services will be held at 11 AM, Monday, October 8, 2007 at Patterson United Methodist Church in Patterson, GA with Rev. Byron Scott officiating. Interment will follow in the Patterson Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 10 AM until the funeral hour at the church.
Mrs. Thomas was born on October 31, 1908 in Fayette County, Georgia, to the late Dr. R. C. Loyd and Mattie Paulk Loyd. “Miss Izora”, as she was always called by her students, was a graduate of Valdosta State College and taught school for 49 ½ years in the Patterson School System in Patterson, Georgia. She also taught piano lessons during those years and continued to do so until 1995. Mrs. Thomas was a member of the Patterson United Methodist Church, where she was the pianist and a Sunday School teacher for many decades. She was a member of the John Floyd Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy Ben Hill Chapter No. 1137, and a former member and officer of numerous clubs and organizations, including the Delta Kappa Gamma, NEA, Retired Teachers Association, Patterson Garden Club, Patterson Grandmothers Club, and others. She was an avid bridge player for many years and enjoyed it immensely. She also loved to travel, and one of the highlights of her life was the summer she sailed across the Atlantic to tour Europe with her son.
She is survived by her daughter-in-law: Jewellee Harris Thomas of Ocilla; granddaughter and grandson-in-law: Tamara Thomas Dennis and Charles C.V. Dennis of Valdosta; nephew: Dr. Scott Bradshaw of Peachtree City; sisters-in-law: Thelma Thomas of Patterson and Nell Anderson of Sylvania as well as several other relatives. Mrs. Thomas was preceded in death by her husband: D. H. “Jule” Thomas; son: Jule Edward Thomas; granddaughter: Donna Thomas Reed; and two sisters: Ardath Loyd Bradshaw and Vivian Loyd.