F. Thomas

Mrs. Frances Verdell Peterson "Pete" Thomas, 104, of Winston-Salem, passed away January 16, 2018. She got her birthday wish, to enjoy the sweet, welcoming embrace of her Lord and Savior by her 105th birthday, by two days. To her dear Iowa relatives, she was always Verdell and to everyone else, who did not call her Mrs. Thomas, she was Pete. As unusual and unique as her name, she was a singular woman. Though she had never seen "Paree," once she graduated high school, they could not keep her down on the farm. Her senior year 4-H project won first prize at the Iowa State Fair. Even in the depths of the Depression of 1931, the auction price for her prized Black Angus heifer was sufficient to cover three years tuition including room and board for nursing school, though just barely. At nursing school she developed a source from which to buy candy bars wholesale so she might resell to her fellow nursing school candidates, enabling her to have a couple of nickels of her own to rub together. After two years at the University of Iowa, plus one more year in California for specialized training in Obstetrics, Verdell was a Registered Nurse, trained as a midwife. By 1935, she was working on the staff of Lakeview Memorial Hospital in Danville, IL, where she had a job throughout the Depression. Though trained in OB, she went where she was needed, becoming a surgical nurse and in time, the Operating Room Supervisor. Particularly frugal by necessity, as well as her Norwegian upbringing, she saved a full year's salary by 1938 to buy a new car. In 1937 she had met a local boy, Joe Thomas. They were married sixty-seven years, with Joe preceding her to the Promise Land by thirteen years. Verdell is survived by her two children, Karen Marie Anderson of Pfafftown and Michael Wayne Thomas of Lawrenceville, GA. Her daughter-in-law, Maria Cristina Thomas, originally from South America, considered her mom as well. There are four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. It was to be near the grandkids that got Pete and Joe to leave Illinois for Pfafftown, NC after retirement. A member of Lutheran Church of the Epiphany of Winston-Salem, Verdell was a particularly active parishioner, presiding over the Mary-Martha Circle for many years, mobilizing women to act boldly on their faith in Jesus Christ. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 10, 2018 at Lutheran Church of the Epiphany Church with Pastor Doug Kearney officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Lutheran Church of the Epiphany, 5220 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, or to the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission, 718 N. Trade St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101, www.wsrescue.org.

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