Selma Morgen Thomas

Selma Morgen Thomas, 52, a shining light in the lives of all who knew her, passed away on March 13, 2023 surrounded by family and close friends. Named after her maternal grandmother, Selma Stern, she was born August 20, 1970, in Castro Valley, to Gynne Reise Stern and Ronald "Lee" Thomas. She will join her mother and grandparents at the Eternal Home Cemetery in Colma, CA. She is survived by her sister, Margaret Levine.

Selma spent her early years in Hayward and, later, Castro Valley with her mom and dad, who adored her. At 13, she attended St. Vincent's Day School in Santa Barbara. After graduating, Selma moved into a private group home in Novato run by Jim Lee and his daughter, Frankie Gelotte, and soon enrolled in Marin Ventures day program, which she attended for 30+ years. One of Selma's first jobs was washing windows at Molly Stone's in Greenbrae. Later, she assisted in addressing employee payroll envelopes at Marin Ventures. After a 2019 brain injury, Selma moved into a one-story Cornerstones group home run by Ann Gouger and her dedicated staff. With her working days over, she quickly became a permanent fixture in her school's art room.

As a person with Downs Syndrome, Selma had many medical challenges: open-heart surgery as an infant, spinal surgery and jaw restructuring as a teen, a second spinal surgery, and a near miss brain hemorrhage in her late 40s. This injury left her without use of her right arm, and limited use of her right leg. Nevertheless Selma triumphantly learned to walk again and to become left-handed.

Although Selma faced many hardships, she lived a full and rich life. For all of her adult life, Selma always cherished spending at least one night a week at home with her family. She loved painting, drawing, and copying words from Vogue and The New Yorker magazines. She enjoyed music, dancing and spending holidays with extended family: Josh, Merritt and Schuyler, and the rest of the crew. She loved people and dogs, especially Penelope, Margaret's mini-pinscher chihuahua, whose equally sweet nature cured Selma of her lifelong fear of animals. Penny commonly sat on Selma's lap as she rode her wheelchair to medical appointments.

Selma was well-traveled. She spent time in Mexico, Hawaii, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Tahoe, and Disneyland. She visited her paternal grandmother in Washington State, and loved going to the zoo, sailing, riding the gondola at Heavenly, and kayaking and cycling at BORP Adaptive Cycling in Berkeley.

Selma was incredibly sweet and loving. People felt special when she would take their hand and say, "I love you." She also attracted many admirers, close friends and mentors. A quiet person, Selma actually had no trouble speaking up for herself. She screamed, "Honey, watch out! You're going to kill us!" while driving with her sister. Selma had a robust sense of humor, and was fun to be around. She enjoyed comedy at the Throckmorton, laughing herself into stitches. During her brain recovery Selma was given a stuffed bunny, "Bun Bun," whom she kept with her constantly. Bun Bun was snuggled up under Selma's arm during her final days in the hospital, and continues to be with her now.

Selma will be deeply missed by all the people she touched. Those who wish to celebrate Selma are invited to the Falkirk Cultural Center in San Rafael for a Celebration of Life at 2PM on Sunday, April 16, 2023. Anyone wanting to honor her memory can donate to Sweet Selma Memorial Garden.