Marion Gwendolyn (Oden) Thomas, an active and integral part of the community of Oak Bluffs and Paterson, N.J., died on Nov. 7 of natural causes. She was 97.
Marion was born on June 5, 1918. She attended Rust College in Holly Springs, Miss., and Homer G. Phillips Hospital School of Nursing in St. Louis, Mo.
Marion married Dr. Leon H.S. Thomas, who set up practice in Paterson, N.J. The family summered on Martha’s Vineyard.
Marion, a registered nurse, relocated to Martha’s Vineyard permanently in 1981, where she was employed as a private-duty nurse.
She was an active volunteer in her community while in New Jersey. She was president at various times of Jack and Jill, the local PTA, Planned Parenthood, and the YWCA. Marion also volunteered in the Ladies Auxiliary of Barnet Memorial Hospital in Paterson, N.J.
She was a volunteer at the old Oak Bluffs Library and Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. She was also one of the founders of the Cottagers on Martha’s Vineyard.
Marion touched many hearts along her way. Her family and friends will miss her love and laughter.
She was predeceased by her loving husband, Dr. Leon H.S. Thomas, her daughter Jerilyn Pawlow Ingram, and her pets Ginger and Pepper.
She leaves two daughters, Linda Ann Arthurs and Karen Gwendolyn
Thomas; two sons-in-law; nephews, friends, and neighbors.
Services were held on Nov. 19 at the Carnie P. Bragg Funeral Home in Paterson, N.J., with interment at the Cedar Lawn Cemetery.