Wiley Milner Thomas

1990 - 2024

New Orleans native Wiley Thomas passed away unexpectedly at home on July 17, 2024. He was 33-years old. Wiley was a true son of the Big Easy. He was a passionate fan of The New Orleans Saints and Pelicans. He loved Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, and New Orleans food and music. People were drawn to his enthusiasm for a celebration and he had a great many friends in New Orleans, Birmingham, Dallas and

Colorado. He loved to interact with the crowd at Hansen's SnoBliz stand where he had worked for several years. He adored his

two-year-old niece Quinn. He delighted in playing with his bulldog whom he called "Frank the Tank". Wiley attended elementary and middle schools at St. George's Episcopal School. He had a talent for stand-up comedy and he was often the class clown. He graduated from high school at Mountain Brook High in Mountain Brook, Alabama. His classmates there remember him for his rap music "speech" to a school assembly that resulted in him being elected class treasurer. He later attended The University of Colorado at Boulder before returning to Loyola University in New Orleans where he obtained a bachelor's degree in history in 2013. He was working on a master's degree in clinical psychology at the time of his death. Wiley is survived by his mother, Lynette McCary (an artist) and his father, John Hall Thomas (an attorney). He has three surviving sisters, Emily "Mimi" Thomas, Lydia Thomas, and Eva Thomas. He has a younger brother, John Thomas, Jr. He is also survived by his two step-siblings Peyton Russo and Garrett Russo, his niece Olivia Quinn Dickerson, and by numerous aunts, uncles and cousins from around the country. Wiley was loved by everyone who knew him for his quick sense of humor and his broad open smile. Funeral services will be on Saturday August 3rd, 2024 at Jacob Schoen & Son 3827 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. There will be a reception in the funeral home parlor at 2:00 pm and a service in the chapel at 3:00 pm followed by a Second Line Parade with a brass band. Wiley always loved a good parade