Obituaries

Anne Cecile Thomas, 50, died Oct. 14 at home after fighting pancreatic cancer for more than two years.
Born in Athens, Ohio, on Oct. 21, 1973 to Drs. Russell and Merle Thomas, Anne graduated from White Station High School in Memphis in 1991. In 1995, she earned a degree in communications arts and sciences from DePauw University, where she was initiated into the Pi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
After graduation, Anne went on to have a career in corporate communications in the Chicago area, working at Galileo International, Harza Engineering, Aetna and Exelon Corporation. In 2007, she moved back to Memphis, where she worked for Smith & Nephew and served as a sponsored representative for United Way of the Mid-South.
In 2010, she returned to school, graduating with honors from Harding School of Theology in 2014 with a master’s degree in counseling.
Anne pursued this second career with a passion, becoming a licensed professional counselor-mental health service provider and a licensed marriage and family therapist. She was a therapist at La Paloma Treatment Center, an adjunct professor at Harding School of Theology, and a care coordinator at Family Institute of Tennessee.
For more than five years, Anne was a counselor at Hope Presbyterian Church before starting her own private practice, Clarity Therapy of Tennessee.
She also served as a volunteer with Kairos Prison Ministry International, where she ministered to women residents at West Tennessee correctional institutions.
Anne was preceded in death by a host of relatives, including her maternal grandparents, Noel Clifford and Marjorie Christine (Watson) Williams; her paternal grandparents, Vern Henry and Cecile Frances (McCoy) Thomas; and her aunt and godmother, Janet (Thomas) Thompson.
She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved children, Ava and Edward; her parents, Drs. Russell and Merle Thomas; her siblings Wendi, Aaron (Christina) and Emily; her niece Olivia; and her recently adopted rescue dog, Rigby. She is also survived by dozens of loving relatives and friends, including a devoted aunt, Maisie Sparks; best friends, Josette Fleming and Deborah-Ann Beete; as well as her three childhood best friends, Leigh Hood, Nobuko Igarashi and Dana (Rousseau) Neuhauser.
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Nov. 9 at Hope Church, 8500 Walnut Grove Road.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you donate to one of the following: Faith Christian Academy, Bartlett, Tennessee; Kairos Prison Ministry, Women’s Therapeutic Residential Center in Tennessee; or Kosten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.
Arrangements are provided by Serenity Funeral Home.
Previous Events
Memorial
9
Nov
8500 Walnut Grove Rd.
Memphis, TN 38018