Elizabeth Jo THIELEN

1930 - 2018

THIELEN, Elizabeth Jo Died of lung cancer Monday, December 17, 2018 at Hospice of Dayton at the age of 88. She was the founder and original owner of the Trolley Stop, a popular bar and restaurant in the Oregon District. Born in Carbon Hill, AL in 1930, Jo was raised between Carbon Hill and Crummies Creek Kentucky, a coal camp near Harlan where her father was a mine supervisor. Known in those days as Betty Jo, she moved to Florida after marrying and giving birth to her first child, divorced in the early 1950s, went to Knoxville to go to beauty school and eventually moved to Dayton where she met and married her second husband and had two daughters. She started the Trolley Stop in the mid-1970s, transforming a slum bar into a beloved neighborhood gathering place that still reflects her legacy 40 years later. Jo was a great friend, mentor and guide to many, was profoundly loved and will be deeply missed. She is preceded in death by her husband Donald R. Thielen; survived by her son, Michael H. Ganey (wife Martha) of Moncks Corner, SC; daughters Terry Thielen (husband Bob Starbird) of Washington D.C, and Tama Thielen of Phoenix, AZ; grandchildren Nick Ganey, Bryan Ganey and Libby Huff; and three great grandchildren. The family will host a celebration of Jo's life at the Trolley Stop in May 2019 after the cold abates and the flowers start to bloom. Donations may be made in Jo's name to Hospice of Dayton, the Southern Poverty Law Center and/or the ACLU.