Karma Thomas

Stockton, CA

May 11, 1937 - August 19, 2006

Karma Thomas,age 69, met cancer unafraid and died on Saturday, August 19, 2006 surrounded by loved ones and the caring staff at the Hospice House in Stockton. A month earlier, on July 16, a festive Life Celebration was held at Stockton's Mayfair Christian Church which she was able to plan and enjoy. She was too ill to attend, but she received a DVD of the event so that she could also hear the music, the warm and funny stories shared and see the attendees enjoy the feast, the hula dancers and each other. After retiring in 2001 from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Karma moved from the Bay Area to Stockton with her life partner of twenty years, Margie Brown and their two beloved rescue dogs, Peaches and Molly. Karma was involved locally and nationally in an ecumenical ministry called "Kairos Outside", which serves women who have loved incarcerated ones. She directed the Red Cross Blood Drive for retirees from LLNL, and she volunteered at Livermore's Del Valle Dog Club and Lodi's Animal Friends Connection. She was active at Cornerstone Fellowship in Livermore and Mayfair Christian Church. In honor of her love of snorkeling, her cremains will be incorporated into a cast-concrete artificial reef that will be used to rehabilitate and rebuild a reef somewhere on the ocean floor. More information about this ecological program can be found at www.eternalreef.com. In addition to Brown, Thomas is survived by sister, DeeDee McNair; daughters, Karen Menard and Wendy Thomas and grandchildren, Jason Kleist, Jennifer Kleist, Bryan Commeau, Sierra Preston and Charles Preston.

A second memorial service to accommodate those unable to attend in July will be held at Cornerstone Fellowship in Livermore on Saturday, September 23, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. Please see info@cornerstoneweb.org for directions.

Arrangements are by the Neptune Society of Northern Ca-Stockton Branch.

Memorial gifts in Karma's honor may be sent to Animal Friends Connection, PO Box 2324, Lodi CA 95241, or to Kairos Outside, PO Box 1753, Pacifica CA 94044.