Donna J. Thomas

Donna Jean Thomas

November 19, 1932 – April 14, 2024

In pictures, she looked like Judy Garland. Then later like Audrey Hepburn. But she was not. She was unmistakably Donna. And it was her inner beauty that made her beloved to everyone who encountered her.

She was born in Northville in 1932 to Florence and Arthur Schnute. She graduated from Northville High School in 1950 (she was the drummer in their marching band). She earned a secretarial degree and after a little jaunt to Europe went to work at Ford Motor Company. She joined their ski club and caught the eye of a handsome young engineer and former Marine pilot, Robert Kastner Thomas. They married in 1961.

Her life encompassed so many themes. Especially music. She could sit at the piano and play for hours — everything from Rachmaninoff to Debussy to jazz standards to the accompaniments to her kids’ solo and ensemble festivals and the St. Paul’s choir. If you put a new piece of sheet music in front of her she could play it on sight like a pro.

And laughter. When the time comes and you see her in heaven, ask her about the cottage cheese episode. The name of that island in Lake St. Clair. The Turkey Hot Line. How to use a chair to knead bread dough. The Thomas family song. And, “Not so fast there, Abernathy.” The funniest family lore stories center around her.

And faith. A lifelong member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Northville, she was a fixture in the choir, the handbell choir, the social committee and any place that needed her. This and her beautiful inner nature enabled her to accept a difficult health diagnosis with complete grace.

And the greatest of these is love. Her home was the hub for friends and family. Everyone was welcome, and there was always wine, chips and salsa and a jar filled with honey mustard pretzels.  Huge celebrations around the dining room table. Ballroom dancing lessons for the neighborhood couples in the basement. Acceptance of all manner of random pets. A backyard that was a wonder where all the neighborhood kids would gather, with a huge sandbox and koi pond.  She allowed a baseball diamond to be worn into the lawn on the side.

Music, laughter, faith and love — these are things dementia was never able to steal from her. She is survived by her children, Katherine Thomas (Jerry), Jennifer Thomas Vanadia (Sal), Jonathan Thomas (Margaret) and Jeffrey Thomas (LeeAnn); her brother, Gerald Schnute (Margo); her grandchildren, Matthew Winther (Tracey), Deani Thomas (Michael Carter), Victoria Vanadia, Sebastian Vanadia, Isabella Thomas, Ashley Biegajski (Steve), Leah Thomas, Erin Thomas, Ross Thomas, Karis Thomas, Margo Thomas and Ryan Thomas; great grandchildren, Zach Winther, Josh Winther, Katie Jackson (Colton), Robert Thomas (Brittni Cain), Andy King, Emily Grace Thomas, Corbin Biegajski, Grant Biegajski, Maverick Biegajski; great-great grandchildren, Jerry Thomas and Cecilia Thomas.

Until we meet again.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, April 17, 2024 from 12:30 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. with the funeral service beginning at 1:30 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 201 Elm Street, Northville. Pastor Christopher Fairbairn will officiate the service. She will be laid to rest at Glen Eden Memorial Park in Livonia following the service.

Memorial contributions would be appreciated to St. Paul Lutheran Church , 201 Elm Street, Northville, Michigan 48167 or Custom Hospice , 888 West Big Beaver, Suite 900, Troy, Michigan 48084.