Rosalee Swanson Thomas

1934 - 2026

Rosalee Swanson Thomas

September 19, 1934 - February 6, 2026

Raleigh, North Carolina - Rosalee Swanson Thomas, 91, of Raleigh, NC passed away peacefully at home on February 6, 2026 after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Rosalee was born September 19, 1934 in Burlington, Iowa. She was the cherished daughter of Sidney and Nellie (Carey) Swanson.

Rosalee was reared and educated in the Morning Sun, IA area. She attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA and received her BS degree in Education from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. Rosalee taught elementary grades in Iowa, Maryland and North Carolina. After a short break to rear her three children, she went back to work as an administrative assistant at Capital Towers in Raleigh, NC assisting the elderly. Rosalee's career finished with her retirement from the Career Services Office of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University. She greatly enjoyed working with the college students, seeing them mature and use their college training in the workplace.

Rosalee married Lyle D. Thomas on June 12, 1954. After following Lyle's numerous work relocations around the country with the U.S. Public Health Service, the family had grown to five and settled in Raleigh, NC in 1966. Lyle was the first employee of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Research Triangle Park, NC. Lyle supervised the completion of the NIEHS laboratory on the new campus, only to pass away shortly after in 1984.

Rosalee married James S. Wilson Jr., a native of North Carolina, on January 20, 1990. She and Jim had an active social life with friends and family. They also enjoyed attending classes and trips through the NC State Continuing and Lifelong Education program.

Rosalee was a vivacious person with a quick wit. She loved genealogy and spent many out of state vacations digging through court records and visiting cemeteries. She enjoyed playing bridge, was an active member in the Friends of Scandinavia club as well as being a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She also enjoyed being able to spend even more time with her children and grandchildren after retirement. Rosalee was a devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and friend who will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

Rosalee is survived by her husband of thirty-six years, James "Jim" Wilson Jr.; three children, Wade Thomas (Debbie) and Shelly Flye (Dan) of Raleigh, NC, and Clark Thomas (Betty) of Durham, NC; two grandchildren, Gretchen Thomas and Cody Thomas of Lakewood, CO.

Rosalee was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband of thirty years Lyle Thomas; two stepchildren, Rick Wilson and Barrett Wilson; and one grandchild, Zoey Flye.

A memorial service will take place at 3:00 PM on March 6th at Soapstone UMC, 12837 Norwood Rd Raleigh, NC. After the service, the family invites friends to join them for fellowship and refreshments at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Dementia Alliance of North Carolina (dementianc.org) or Soapstone United Methodist Church (soapstoneumc.org).