Mary Ellen Thomas
– January 6, 2021
Mary Ellen Demarest Thomas, 90, of Freedom Plaza, Sun City Center, Fla., died on Jan. 6, 2021, at Freedom Plaza Assisted Living after a short illness. She was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Sept. 3, 1930, the daughter of Frederick and Claire (Grace) Demarest.
A graduate of Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Syosset, N.Y., she received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Manhattanville College and later a master’s degree in Spanish. She professed as a nun, joining the Sisters of Mercy and spent considerable time teaching in Panama. After leaving the order, she married Frank P. Thomas in 1970 and taught at St. John the Baptist School on Long Island before moving with her husband to Sun City Center, Fla., where she taught elementary school at Ruskin and Apollo Beach well into her 70s.
Throughout her life, Mary Ellen was a committed teacher, educating generations of Floridians in local schools as well as teaching catechism at the Prince of Peace Roman Catholic Church in Sun City into her 80s. She and her husband were avid travelers, exploring the United States and Canada in their camper van, as well as making many overseas trips to Spain, France, England and Ireland. She was a longtime member of the AAUW, served on its college scholarship committee (which she continued at Freedom Plaza) and its book club and volunteered in Sun City’s public library as well as on numerous clubs in Sun City, including the Art Club and the ‘Pink Ladies’ tennis club. An accomplished pianist and watercolor artist, Mary Ellen was a season ticket holder of the Florida Symphony Orchestra’s Coffee Concerts series.
Mary Ellen’s surviving family includes her nephew, Ralph Thomas of Huntington, N.Y, and his wife Kathy and daughter Jessica; her nephew, James Demarest of Naples, Fla., and his wife, Karysia and children, Gabriela and Chad; her nephew, Patrick Cushing of Asheville, N.C. and his wife Jacky and daughters Erin, Jennifer and Tara; her nephew, George Demarest of Capitola, Calif.; her niece, Diana Cazaudumec of East Haven, Vt., and children Giselle and Olivier; and her niece, Kathleen Cushing of Keele, Staffordshire (UK), and her daughter Elena; along with many cousins and second cousins.
A Memorial Service will be held at the National Cremation and Burial Society in Ruskin, Fla., at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mary Ellen’s name to Prince of Peace Roman Catholic Church.
A graduate of Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Syosset, N.Y., she received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Manhattanville College and later a master’s degree in Spanish. She professed as a nun, joining the Sisters of Mercy and spent considerable time teaching in Panama. After leaving the order, she married Frank P. Thomas in 1970 and taught at St. John the Baptist School on Long Island before moving with her husband to Sun City Center, Fla., where she taught elementary school at Ruskin and Apollo Beach well into her 70s.
Throughout her life, Mary Ellen was a committed teacher, educating generations of Floridians in local schools as well as teaching catechism at the Prince of Peace Roman Catholic Church in Sun City into her 80s. She and her husband were avid travelers, exploring the United States and Canada in their camper van, as well as making many overseas trips to Spain, France, England and Ireland. She was a longtime member of the AAUW, served on its college scholarship committee (which she continued at Freedom Plaza) and its book club and volunteered in Sun City’s public library as well as on numerous clubs in Sun City, including the Art Club and the ‘Pink Ladies’ tennis club. An accomplished pianist and watercolor artist, Mary Ellen was a season ticket holder of the Florida Symphony Orchestra’s Coffee Concerts series.
Mary Ellen’s surviving family includes her nephew, Ralph Thomas of Huntington, N.Y, and his wife Kathy and daughter Jessica; her nephew, James Demarest of Naples, Fla., and his wife, Karysia and children, Gabriela and Chad; her nephew, Patrick Cushing of Asheville, N.C. and his wife Jacky and daughters Erin, Jennifer and Tara; her nephew, George Demarest of Capitola, Calif.; her niece, Diana Cazaudumec of East Haven, Vt., and children Giselle and Olivier; and her niece, Kathleen Cushing of Keele, Staffordshire (UK), and her daughter Elena; along with many cousins and second cousins.
A Memorial Service will be held at the National Cremation and Burial Society in Ruskin, Fla., at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mary Ellen’s name to Prince of Peace Roman Catholic Church.