Mattie Thomas

Mattie Thomas

Funeral Services for Mrs. Mattie Thomas, of East Dublin, will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2016, at 12 PM at the Mount Pullen AME Church, 1304 Lakeway Road, East Dublin. Reverend Ted Walters will officiate. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

She came from humble beginnings, entering into this world on July 16, 1922. She was the only child of Mrs. Effie Carswell Tobridge, and she grew up at her mother’s shirttails, learning domestic skills and homemaking crafts that would later serve her well in life.

Her formal education was interrupted in the middle grades by her marriage to Lonnie Thomas, Sr. in March of 1939. She had found a soulmate with whom she shared a loving and committed life for 63 years until his death. While together, they established a home with Christ at the head and their love for and obedience to Him as the foundation. Without a doubt, this contributed to their marital longevity.

During that union, Mattie gave birth to six children - three boys and three girls - and a natural, nurturing instinct characterized her supportive care for them. She was a partner in modeling Christian behaviors and virtues that guided their upbringing. This motherly instinct was apparent not only with her own children but with other children in the neighborhood as well. She was loved and respected in a surrogate role by her friends' children and her children's friends. This type of love and admiration continued throughout her golden years.

Mattie made certain that her spiritual connections were aligned with where God wanted her to be. In the early 1940's, she joined Mount Pullen A.M.E. Church and began a long, dedicated life of service there. She was a class leader for 5 years, taught Sunday School for 30 years, and served as Sunday School secretary for 15 years. Throughout her christian journey, she held positions of a trustee, stewardess, missionary, and member of the building union. She was also a member of the Southwest Georgia Missionary and Lay Organization of the 6th Episcopal District. She was honored to be named the Church Mother during her later years, and in 2012-2013, she was crowned Queen for the Eastern District of the Southwest Georgia Conference of the 6th Episcopal District.

Because of her profound joy in music, she loved to worship and praise the Lord by singing, and she loved listening to others who did the same. This likely led to her willingness to serve as senior choir president for over 30 years. Even after she relinquished her role as president and no longer officially sang in the choir, she continued to inspire, support and encourage her successor. She also continued to sing from her pew in church and always at home every night as she encouraged family to join in her spirit-filled prayer meetings before she retired for the evening. She never missed singing "This Train is Bound for Glory" before ending her praise service with her favorite song, "I'm On My Way Where Jesus Is". She delighted in praising the Lord, and He rewarded her with extraordinary longevity to do it.

God blessed her to live for 94 years on this earth before calling her home on early Sunday morning, October 30, 2016.

Left to celebrate her life and cherish her memory are her sons, Lonnie (Mary) Thomas of Dublin, and James (Charsena) Thomas of Elm City, North Carolina; daughters, Minnie (Lorenzo) Stubbs of Lauderhill, Florida, Martha (Alexander) Caine of Norfolk, Virginia and Patricia (Wilbert) Roberts of Waynesboro; daughter-in-law, Carol Thomas of Newport News, Virginia; 13 grandchildren; 2 god-grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; 7 great-great grandchildren; several friends who are like sisters; nieces, nephews, cousins, mentees, and a host of friends and well-wishers. She loved them all.

She will be placed in the church 1 hour prior to services.

The family will receive friends at 1332 Willie Wood Road, East Dublin.

Please post condolences at www.ServicesByDudley.com.
Services by Dudley Funeral Home of Dublin.