THOMAS

Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at 05:28:06 :

Independent Journal
Tuesday, December 31, 1968
Page 4

LEOTA THOMAS

Funeral will be held today for Leota Gregory Thomas, 77, a former teacher at San Rafael High School, who died Saturday in a hospital in Loma Linda, San Bernardino County.

Mrs. Thomas, who resided in Sun City, was cremated.

She retired from her job in 1965 as a biology teacher after nine years at San Rafael High School and a year at Davidson Junior High School.

Her husband, Edward, also a former teacher, taught evening classes at College of Marin before moving to San Bernardino County with his wife in 1965.

Mrs. Thomas began her teaching career in a rural school in her home state of Indiana when she was 17. Her initial teaching job ended after three years when she was married and moved to Tabor, Iowa, where her husband was a physics professor.

Later the Thomases attended the University of Chicago, where Mrs. Thomas earned a bachelor of arts and a master’s degree. She also did graduate work at the University of Southern California and Harvard.

At one time the Thomases both taught at the same school, Missouri State Teachers College. Later they moved to Chicago where she became a lecturer in zoology at the Chicago Natural History Museum. Mrs. Thomas was an editor of the World Book Encyclopedia and taught at Mount Pleasant State College, Mich.

Also as a part of her teaching career, Mrs. Thomas taught summers at Northwestern University, Indiana University extension, New Mexico State Teachers College and DePaul University. She was a lecturer for several summers at a nature study camp north of Denver, Colo.

Mrs. Thomas devoted much of her time after her retirement to travel, writing and gardening.

Besides her husband, she is also survived by two sons, Gregory Thomas of Castro Valley and Nelson Thomas of Wisconsin.