Rita Delores Thomas

Rita Delores Isenhart Thomas, 11/14/1928 - 10/7/2025, was born to Vernon ("Pat") Edgar Isenhart and Ella Marie (Olsen). Her father called her "Rita" and her mother called her "Delores" and she settled on "Delores" when she was old enough to pick. She was born in Syracuse, New York and spent her childhood between Syracuse and Marshalltown, Iowa. Her father worked for Lennox and his job took them between those two cities.

Delores graduated from the Marshalltown high school in 1946. She attended the University of Syracuse where she met Calvin Clifford Thomas. They married on 8/12/1950 in her parents' back yard. First, they lived in St. Petersburg, Florida where all three of their children were born, Jeffrey Calvin Thomas (Steamboat Springs, Colorado) in 1953, Michelle Nina Thomas (Boulder, Colorado) in 1955, and Bradford Miles Thomas (Berthoud, Colorado) in 1958. (Cal and Delores did not have a name picked out for Brad and the hospital would not let them leave until he had a name. Since Cal, a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, was supposed to cover a car race the day he was born but stayed home to welcome Brad, they gave him "Miles" for a middle name.) From Florida, the family moved to Marshfield Hills, Massachusetts; Trenton, New Jersey; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and, on the move to Colorado, Jeff stayed behind in Minneapolis for a few years until he decided the weather really was better in Colorado and moved there, too. In Colorado they lived in Arvada, Vail, and finally, Boulder, with Michelle and her husband, Mark Leifeste and their daughters Amalia and Anna. Cal died shortly after the move to Boulder, and Delores continued to live with Michelle and Mark until her passing.

Delores was home with her children until Brad was finishing high school and then she worked at a biology laboratory (which she loved). After the move to Vail, she worked the front desk at Roost Lodge for many years, and then Streamside Evergreen where she made good friends, Amy, Sheryl, and Jeff, who she remembered fondly long after leaving Vail.

For many years, Delores crocheted baby blankets for people she knew and people she never met but who were friends of Amalia and Anna's. She enjoyed thrifting, a good basket, a sturdy tin, reading, watching the news, and delighted in the nature she found around her outside her back door in Vail or sitting on the deck in Boulder. She never said "no" to pie. She gave quirky gifts which were often appreciated for years. She found the most joy in family, her own children and their wonderful partners (Chris Thomas, Mark Leifeste, Sue Thomas); three grandchildren (Amalia (Gaurav), Anna(Matt), and Morgaen; four great-grandchildren, Veda, Simon, Margot and Neev; and brightened, even in the last days, to visits and phone calls with her cousin Mary, and calls with her brother Bill.

She passed peacefully at home, with her granddaughter Morgaen beside her, the last of many moments shared in love. Michelle, Mark, and Brad cannot imagine having been able to do that without the help of many people at Trail Winds Hospice, who were all kind and helpful. Diane, Helen, and Lucy will always hold special places in our hearts.