Denise Anne Thomas

ST. CHARLES -Denise Anne Thomas, 45, and her husband, Wade Eugene Thomas, 44, of St. Charles, died tragically Saturday, May 23, 2009.

She was born Sept. 23, 1963, in Chicago, the daughter of Donald and Loretta (Nolan) Howey.

Denise grew up in Elmhurst and attended local schools. Following her graduation from West Chicago High School, Denise married Mark Wold in 1982. She concentrated on raising a family that now included their son Shaun. They were blessed with Drew in 1983 and once again when Kirk was born in 1987. She met and married Ted Riffell in 1996 and in 2005 they amicably went their own ways.

Denise met her soul mate Wade Thomas at Turner's Club in Aurora in 2005. In him she found the other side of herself as well as a partner in crime. They were united in marriage March 18, 2008, in Canterbury Chapel in Las Vegas, Nev. Upon their return, they made their home in St. Charles.

Denise worked several local jobs over the years, as a bartender at Turner's Club in Aurora, a secretary for Scott Industries and later in the accounting department for ADS. Later she worked for the law firms of Maguire and Woods and Brian Cave in Chicago as an IT director.

Denise was a proud and longtime member of Turner's Club in Aurora.

Denise loved to garden anything that came out of the ground. Lilacs, marigolds and lilies competed for attention with tomatoes and peppers in her garden. Denise was a huge animal lover but had a special place in her heart for her cat Casa. She was a master in the kitchen, making cakes and cookies for any occasion but especially for Christmas. For both she and Wade, Christmas was the ultimate holiday and no one celebrated like they did. Also like Wade, she had a passion for motorcycles that ran deep. She and Wade loved to travel on road trips to Creal Springs, Ill. She not only was a wonderful mom to her children, helping in Boy Scouts and coaching soccer, but anyone else who needed a mom, no matter how old they were. She was gifted with computers and technology but also painted watercolors, cross stitched, and was a master at arts and crafts. Denise also enjoyed trips to Hobby Lobby, which fueled her scrapbooking adventures. With a green belt in judo, Denise was a physical force to be reckoned with as well. Any sports team in Chicago could call her a fan but her sports of choice were bags, billiards and no one could rival her talent in darts. Denise lived in the hearts of all she called friend and her memory will walk alongside of her family for generations.

She now leaves three sons, Shaun (Cindy Hilbert) Wold, with one on the way in September, of West Chicago, Drew (Bridget) Wold of Warrenville, and Kirk Wold of St. Charles; her mother, Loretta Ley of Aurora; two brothers, Mark (Darcy) Howey and their children, Alyssa and Loren (goddaughter of Denise) of North Aurora and Pete Howey of Peoria; a sister, Diane Miranda (Howey) of Louisville, Ky., and her three sons, Ryan, Samuel, and Corbin; and a family of friends near and wide.

She now joins her husband Wade and her father Donald Howey, who preceded her in death.

Visitation for both Denise and Wade will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday, May 31, at Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn. A funeral service to celebrate their lives will be at 11 a.m. Monday, June 1, at Conley Funeral Home. The Rev. Brian Coffey, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Geneva, will officiate. Interment will follow at River Hills Cemetery, Batavia. For those unable to attend, a live web-cast will be available five minutes prior to the start of the service at www.conleycare.com. The service will also be available on the website in an on-demand format the following day.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in Wade and Denise's name. Checks may be made to the Wade and Denise Thomas Memorial and mailed in care of P.O. Box 66, Elburn, IL 60119. Tributes and memories also may also be forwarded to the family at the same address or through www.conleycare.com.

For information, call Conley Funeral Home at 630-365-6414.