Harry Etta Thomas

Harry Etta Thomas

August 3rd, 1946 - September 22nd, 2025

Harry Etta Thomas, 79, passed away after a long battle with cancer, in the early hours of Monday, September 22nd, at her home in Angier, NC. She died peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by family.

Harry Etta was preceded in death by her parents, Harry Eben Jacobs and Mamie Lee Boyd, as well as her beloved husband Lloyd Dale Thomas. She is survived by her son Kenneth Dale Thomas and his wife Vicki, her daughter Jennifer Dawn (Thomas) Dodson and her husband Don, her daughter Mary Beth (Thomas) May and her husband Scott West; six grandchildren: William Michael Shuck and his wife Elizabeth, John Wesley Kauff, Marshall Dale Thomas, Andrew Dale May, Allyson Brooke May and Lindsay Dawn May; three great-grandchildren: John Wesley Kauff, Jr., Everett Lloyd Kauff, and Violet Eleanor Shuck; and her first cousin and lifelong friend Jane Rike.

She was a devout and faithful Christian and a member of Kennebec Baptist Church in Angier, NC, a talented painter, crafter, seamstress, and artist across multiple mediums, and after some early trials and legendary errors, a truly great cook. Growing up in northern California, she was always proud to be a descendant of cowboys and sharecroppers in west Texas on her mother's side, and loggers in the Pacific Northwest on her father's side. While attending an art college in Denver, she met a young Air Force serviceman from the Appalachian coalfields, and they began a 55-year adventure together that would take them to New York, Ohio, Texas, West Virginia and North Carolina.

Harry Etta was a creative force all her life. She made the world's best birthday cakes, the most elaborate Halloween costumes, the most beautiful Christmas decorations, and at any given time had at least a half-dozen projects at various stages of completion. She loved music and loved to sing, and her complete inability to carry a tune in a bucket never seemed to dampen her enthusiasm. She was an active volunteer at church, especially with youth groups, and she adopted both people and pets without reservation, always making them feel like part of the family. She was the kind of person who would draw little cartoons and hide them in your backpack or lunchbox, just to brighten your day a little when you found them.

She laughed constantly and loved fiercely, and once she loved you, she would never, ever lose faith in you. She was always on your side, always in your corner, and her support was deep and unwavering. She loved her husband, her savior, at least a dozen dogs over the years, her son and daughters and extended family, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren.

And they loved her back. And they will miss her very much.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, September 27th from Noon until 1PM at Pennington-Smith Funeral Home in Gauley Bridge, WV, to be followed at 2PM with a graveside service and internment at Rich Creek Cemetery in Jodie, WV.

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