Dorothy Jane Thomas: 1931-2023
Dorothy Jane Miller, daughter of Lydia (Bender) and Simon J. Miller, was born March 11, 1931 in Gulfport, Miss. She grew up in Gulfport graduating from Lyman High School in 1950. She attended one year of college in Goshen, Ind.
She held various jobs around Gulfport after college. Unsure of what she wanted to do she decided to volunteer with MCC. She chose to go to Brooklane Farm in Hagerstown, Md. While there she met Robert Thomas who was also a volunteer. They were married on Dec. 14, 1956.
After their marriage they briefly lived near Dolton, S.D. In 1958 they moved to the home place where they spent the next 62 years. It was here where they raised their five children: Stanley, Allen, Kristine, Philip and Marcelle. They moved into Freeman, S.D. in 2020.
When Marcie started high school Jane went to work off the farm. She was a cook for Freeman Academy. She returned to being a homemaker for a few years then later worked at Fensel’s, The Tieszen Home in Marion, S.D., and the Salem Home in Freeman. She retired at 86 years old.
Jane’s Christian faith was very important to her. She was an active member of EMB Church of rural Marion. She served any way she was able including teaching Sunday school, Bible school, food committee and the decorating committee. Her love of and skill with gardening was evident in the number of bouquets that she provided for church services and events as well as the homecooked meals she shared with family and friends. She was a member of the Freeman Senior Citizens, enjoying the fellowship of friends and singing in the choir. She also volunteered at the Et Cetera Shoppe.
Left to cherish her memory is her husband, Robert; children Stan (Cathy) of Freeman, Allen aka Amos of Freeman, Kris (Rev. Jason) Haas of Ashley, N.D., Phil (Joline) of Marion and Marcie (Mark) Brackenbury of Woodstock, Ga.; eight grandchildren, including Rev. Tim (Jess), Tabitha (Ben), Toby (Courtney), Tiffany, Thomas, Jaden, Marie and Anna; six great-grandchildren: Bethany, Levi, Ezra, Emma, Marcus and Marley; and many nieces and nephews.
She was proceeded in death by her in-laws Caleb and Ruth, parents Simon and Lydia, brothers Ralph, Max, Carl, Claude, Oren, and sister Ruth. Jane died Thursday, April 6, 2023 at Oakview Terrace, Freeman, while in Hospice care.
