Lou A. Thomas

Lou A. Thomas, 97, of Ridgeland Sc, passed away Thursday, December 17, 2020, at her residence in Ridgeland. She was the Mother of Janet Thomas. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Allen Funeral Home of Ridgeland. We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on our Tribute Wall.

We are comforted by the Words of Our Lord in Psalm 107:29 which states: “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed…” and Sister Lou Alma Thomas crossed over into eternal life to the welcoming arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on December 16, 2020. Sister Thomas was born on December 19, 1922, to the proud parents of Jeremiah and Molly Harley Rhett in Coosawhatchie. Sister Thomas was joined in Holy matrimony to the late Deacon Samuel Thomas on March 9, 1941.
Sister Thomas received the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Savior at a young age. She was a faithful member at St. Paul Baptist Church where she served as an usher, quietly welcoming people into the House of the Lord.
Sister Thomas loved to tell stories of her childhood. She attended the one-room schoolhouse that was built on the grounds of Second African Baptist Church in Coosawhatchie. As a child, she loved fishing and crabbing along the banks of Boat Landing which is part of the Coosawhatchie River. In the 1960s, she worked as a cook at the Rainbow Inn and Restaurant in Coosawhatchie. While working as a cook, she experienced one of the Jasper County’s first restaurant sit-ins during the Civil Rights Era. Her most cherished job was traveling to New York to spend time with her grandchildren.
In her pastime, Sister Thomas loved to cook and make quilts and work in her garden. She also loved singing Zion songs of praises “Guide me O’ Thou Great Jehovah”, and her favorite song she loved to sing, “Mercy Rewrote My Lie” and “The Lord Is My Light and Salvation”. These songs told of her love for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Tears of joy would flow from her eyes as she talked and sang about the goodness of the Lord.
A few weeks before her passing, Aunt Loudy said she was praying and counting her blessings and thanking God for His Mercy and His Love. Aunt Loudy left a legacy with her words, “Live Right, get your education, and Follow Jesus.”
She was preceded in death by her husband, Deacon Samuel Thomas and one son, Vernell Rhett. Seven brothers preceded her in death: Jerry Rhett (Ethel Lee), Samuel Lee Rhett (Ethel), Julius C. Rhett, John Rhett, Robert Rhett, Joseph Rhett, and William Rhett. Three sisters also preceded her in death: Gussie Mae Rhett Fennell (John), Rosena Rhett, and Helen Rhett Smith (Johnny).
She leaves to cherish her memory her loving children; Jannette T. Ellenwood (Garfield), and Vera M. Calloway (Adolphin) from Rochester, New York. She welcomed and raised one grandson, Dwayne K. Thomas (North Carolina. One brother, Ernest Rhett (Eloise) Coosawhatchie, SC, and two other Sisters-in-law, Betty Rhett, Ridgeland, SC, and Henrietta Rhett (San Jose, California). Sister Thomas was blessed with ten grandchildren, twenty great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces and nephews.
 

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