Vivian May Butler Thomas

1921 - 2021

Thomas, Vivian May Butler

Vivian May Butler Thomas died on Saturday, January 2, 2021. She was 99 years of age.

Vivian Thomas was born on November 10, 1921, in Falcon, North Carolina, the youngest of seven brothers and sisters. She was the daughter of the Reverend and Mrs. Alman H. Butler (née Gatsie Louise Stanton). She was educated in the public schools of Falcon, where she graduated as class valedictorian and president, and pursued commercial and secretarial studies in Goldsboro.

Following her education, she worked in the Wayne County Clerk's Office, private businesses, and for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, performing clerical and secretarial services.

While living with her oldest brother and sister-in-law in Goldsboro, Vivian met James Kenneth Thomas of Leaksville (now Eden), then a student at Duke University and a family acquaintance of her brother's. Courtship ensued and continued through Kenneth's enlistment as an officer in the United States Navy following graduation from Duke. They were married in her brother and sister-in-law's house in Goldsboro on December 16, 1944 and remained together till parted by death.

Following the war, Vivian and Kenneth moved to Leaksville, where Vivian was employed as a secretary to management of the Marshall Field Company (later Fieldcrest Mills) while Kenneth worked in radio and later in executive management for a manufacturing business.

Vivian and Kenneth had three sons, all born in Leaksville.

During her years in Leaksville, and in addition to working as a homemaker and raising the boys, Vivian served in the choir and as a Sunday School teacher at Leaksville Methodist Church and was an active member of the Leaksville-Spray Junior Woman's' Club, the Leaksville-Spray Junior Service League, and the parent-teacher associations of her boys' schools.

In 1962, in connection with Kenneth's transfer to a new executive position with his employer, Vivian and Kenneth moved the family to Greensboro, where she continued her work as a homemaker overseeing the completion of the boys' education and graduation from the Greensboro public schools. Around her intense work in maintaining her home, Vivian served in the following organizations: Charity League of Greensboro (first vice president 1964-65), Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, Greensboro local committee of the Peace Corps (1964), the parent-teacher associations of her boys' schools, Greater Greensboro United Way (area chair, Women's Division, 1967), Till and Toil Garden Club (recording secretary 1971-72), Daughters of the American Revolution, Rachel Caldwell Chapter (corresponding secretary, vice regent, and regent, and State Honor Roll chair, North Carolina Society DAR), and Colonial Dames, XVII Century, Gov. Gabriel Johnston Chapter (state flag chair).

In 1978, Vivian returned to employment outside the home, as a secretary in the Greensboro office of the North Carolina Department of Revenue. She retired from this position in 1988.

Following retirement Vivian continued to maintain her Greensboro home, enjoy her grandchildren, maintain her extended family with gatherings, and care for Kenneth during several years of declining health preceding his death in 2008. A highlight of the 20 years following her return to work were her numerous trips around America and to Europe, both for pleasure with family members and accompanying Kenneth in his work as a trade organization representative.

Vivian was preceded in death by all her siblings and their spouses: James Watson Butler and wife, Gloria Frances Butler (née Hailey); Mary Louis Butler Edwards and husband, David Phillips Edwards; Rachel Catherine Butler; Alman H. Butler, Jr. and wife Mabel Butler (née Grant); Gatsey Truett Butler and husband R. Manley Walker; and Joseph Daniel Butler and wife Josephine Butler (née Stanfield).

Vivian was preceded in death by her husband Kenneth and by her son Mark Stanton Thomas of Raleigh.

Vivian is survived by her son James Kenneth Thomas, Jr. and wife Pamela Thomas (née Smith); granddaughter Jennifer Elizabeth Thomas of Cary; daughter-in-law Sally Thomas (née Ziegler), of Raleigh; granddaughter Elizabeth Christine Thomas, of Winston-Salem; son John Michael Thomas and wife Marcia Thomas (née Hunt) of Greensboro; granddaughter Helen Hunt Thomas and husband, Dr. T. C. Crouch, of Marietta, GA; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

The family wishes to thank the staffs of Abbotswood at Irving Park and of Blumenthal Nursing and Rehabilitation for their assistance and many considerations.

Due to the pandemic, there will be a graveside service only for the immediate family at the family burial plot in New Garden Friends Meeting cemetery. Memorial gifts to First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, or to any church, in Vivian's memory and for the furtherance of God's work in the world will be appreciated.

Online condolences may be made at www.forbisanddick.com.