Lucy Jane (Case) Thomas (1912 - 1999)

Born 15 Nov 1912 in Hanna, Carbon, Wyoming

Ancestors

Wife of John Ira Thomas — married 1935 in Hanna, Carbon, Wyoming, United States

Descendants

Died 24 Dec 1999 at age 87 in Show Low, Coconino County, Arizona

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kelly Rishor [send private message]

Biography

Born November 15, 1912, to James Buchannon Case and Gertrude (Woolsey) Case. One of 7 children, of which 5 were brothers, Lucy Jane grew up in Hanna, Wyoming and married her high school sweetheart John Ira Thomas.

Lucy Jane Case Thomas.

After John and Lucy married they moved to Spokane, Washington for many years. They bought and sold homes, and invested some money for retirement. From Washington, they moved to Portland, Oregon.

Lucy was a seamstress for Rhodes Department Store, as well as the sewing instructor and clothes model. She'd make the clothes downstairs and model them on the showroom floor upstairs. She'd study the sewing techniques at home each evening and go into work and give a class the very next day. No one knew she learned on the fly!

Much of the "learning on the fly" came from living through hardships in a coal mine town and from her service as a Riveter in the US Army during World War II. All of her brothers served in the military.

John and Lucy had one child, still living and set to private.

Fond Memories

Lucy Jane was one vibrant lady. She exuded confidence, dressed to the nines, usually in custom sewn outfits. She walked tall, talked loud and laughed even louder. She had a knack for getting into precarious situations.

A quick example; She and Pa had visited a large Zoo. They were leaving and she was bubbling over with joy. She was walking and talking and pushed her hand through the arm of hubby John, "Did you see those cute otters, John? Weren't they so cute, doing bark, bark bark..clapping her hands and walking along...until she noticed it wasn't John at all. She was holding the arm of a complete stranger! This was typical Lucy Jane.

"My childhood is filled with fond memories of visits with Ma and Pa. They would drive from Oregon to Santa Barbara every Christmas. Us kids would be so worked up by the time they arrived, we'd pile in their car as they tried to unload. Ma would have made matching outfits for all 5 kids, which we really liked, but her homemade candies won our hearts. She made peanut brittle, divinity, fudges, and more. A 5-gallon metal can, decorated with bows, would be lined with layers and all through Christmas break we would eat candy, listen to stories, and comb through albums of family photos. Those memories are my driving force for genealogy work. They connected us children to life, history, family and more." I loved her so much, my daughter's middle name is also Jane.

By, Kelly Sullivan.

Notes on Hanna Wyoming

Hanna Wyoming was very small and primarily a coal mining town. It consisted of two towns, each numbered after a mine to which it was in proximity, i.e., Hanna No. 1, Hanna No. 2, and Hanna No. 3, Hanna No. 4, Hanna No. 5. There were in actuality a number of mines, Hanna No. 1, Hanna No. 2, Hanna No. 3, Hanna No. 3 1/2, Hanna No. 4, Hanna No. 4A and Hanna No. 5. Town One was located on the south side of the railroad tracks. Town Two was on the north side of the tracks to the right of the water tank in the center of the picture. ^[1]

Sources

• Family records and albums of Kelly Sullivan

1. ↑ http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/coal3.html Tales and Trails