Hazel Maurine “Myrtle” Thomas, age 84, loving mother of four and honorary mom to another son, passed away in the late hours of the 24th of October after a courageous battle with dementia. It was a long walk home, but she is now in heaven with her loving family. Maurine was born in 1937 in Gainesville, Texas and grew up surrounded by her large family. She had 12 other siblings and a lot of aunts, cousins and uncles. Maurine was influenced by her family to be a loving and caring woman, always giving her time to others, and she incorporated that into her motherhood. Her mother, Georgia Lena Plumlee Tyler and father, Ivy Dwight raised her to be independent and a strong young lady. Maurine loved to laugh, dance and sing. She met her first husband, Homer Bonner, a war hero and had 4 strapping sons: Jerry, Bobby, Richard and Tony Wayne. After Homer’s death, she met Robert Thornton and added another baby boy to the group, Steven Anthony. Years later, in 1977, she met and married Bill Thomas from Shamrock, Texas. She helped raise a bonus son, Billy Don. As a mother she was generous, sweet and kind. She loved her children unconditionally. She worked hard at various jobs and went to college to better herself. She wanted to spoil her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren not with just gifts but with the gift of love as much as she possibly could. Maurine’s family keeps getting bigger and that always made her smile. She will be greatly missed by her family: LaRue, Joyce, Ann, Kay and Sharon along with many family in-laws, friends and acquaintances. She was preceded in death by 3 brothers: Wilburn, Charles, Dale and a sister, Jane. To her sorrow, she had outlived three of her sons, Jerry Bonner of Frisco, Richard Bonner of The Colony and an infant Tony Wayne. Sorry we couldn’t list everyone that loved Maurine, the book would be too big!
“We know that we can’t have you but we’re happy knowing that the angels have finally got you back. Goodbye to a wonderful woman and a beautiful mother”.
There will be a viewing on Friday, October 28, 2022, between the hours of 6:00pm-8:00 pm at Meador Funeral Home, 1204 E. California Street, Gainesville, TX. There will also be a service for those who would like to say their last goodbye to Myrtle on Saturday, October 29, 2022, at 2:00 pm at Meador Funeral Home. Those who wish to remember this beautiful lady in a special way, make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation in her name www.alzfnd.org.
We met Hazel at LaDora Nursing Home where she was my mother’s roommate, Naomi Graham. She and mom became fast friends and took the best care of each other. Hazel Maureen as we called her would sing gospel songs with us and she had a beautiful smile. I will miss seeing her and mom misses her, but glad she is with her Savior Jesus. Praises that she no longer has dementia in heaven, it’s a horrible disease. Sincerely, Brenda Ratcliff
I am one of Naomi Graham’s daughters and met Hazel Maureen at LaDora. I think I fell in love with her the first time I met her. I could tell she had a feistiness about her, she loved sweets and had a smile that melted my heart. We were so thankful she was mom’s roommate. We would sing hymns and one of our favorites was Love Lifted Me when we sang the chorus Hazel would sing the alto part “even me” it always surprised me that dementia took so much however it could not steal their memories of hymns. She also liked When We All get To Heaven. My two sisters and I treated Hazel like one of our family she enjoyed getting her hair brushed and putting on a few necklaces. I know she is made new in heaven and EVERYTHING is abundantly clear to her. We are praying for her family and hoping you always remember your precious memories of Hazel Maureen. With much love and prayer, Judy Craig