Kathryn Fox Thomas

AUGUSTA, GA – Mrs. Kathryn Rose Fox Thomas, 94, died Sunday, November 03, 2013. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Mrs. Thomas was a daughter to the late Thomas and Kate Scott Fox. A resident of Aiken for the last ten years, Mrs. Thomas was a retired schoolteacher in the Mesa County Public School System in Grand Junction, CO. Kathryn grew up on her parent’s remote cattle ranch near Mission, South Dakota. At an early age she knew she wanted an education and pursued it throughout her life. She rode her horse two miles each way to a one-room schoolhouse to grade school, worked her way through high school at a boarding school in O’Neil, NB., and attended college in Wayne, NB, where she earned her credentials to teach school. While teaching she met and married her heartthrob, Bill. They were married for 62 years. After the war they moved to Grand Junction, CO where they raised their four children. Kathryn continued her education taking night classes and summer school all the while teaching and being a wife and mother. Kathryn loved her home, gardening, canning, and cooking. She was will known for her beautiful rose beds and flowers. She loved entertaining her family and friends. She was a dedicated mother and taught her family the love of reading, the value of saving money and hard work. All of her eleven grandchildren spent many happy holidays where there was always fun, laughter, and love at “grandma’s”. She retired in 1980 and she and Bill owned several new motor homes and traveled all over the US, usually visiting the kids who had scattered, helping them with the grandchildren and home projects. In 2002 tragedy hit Kathryn with a bad stroke. She had to relearn to walk and talk. The next year her husband died. That was when she chose to leave CO and move to SC to live with her oldest daughter and family in Montmorenci. She resided the past five years at Trinity on Laurens assisted living here in Aiken. She is survived by two daughters, Scottie C. (Dallas) Ruark, Monmorenci, SC, Kathy (Bob) Key, Pueblo, CO; two sons, Michael G. (Laura) Thomas, Chico, CA, William J. Thomas, Pueblo, CO; eleven grandchildren; nineteen great grandchildren; and a brother, Tommy Fox of Denver, CO. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Thomas was preceded in death by her husband, William G. Thomas; two sisters, Twlia Abourezk, Dixie Allen; and a brother, Mick Fox. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 30, 2013 at Annie’s Inn, Montmorenci, SC at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to St. Gerard Roman Catholic Church, 640 Edrie St., Aiken, South Carolina 29801. SHELLHOUSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 924 HAYNE AVE., AIKEN, SC Please visit her online guest book at shellhousefuneralhome.com To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Kathryn Fox Thomas, please visit our flower store.