Ellen Lamar Thomas

THOMAS, Ellen Lamar 95, of Kimball Farms Retirement Community, a former reading consultant at the University of Chicago, an author of books on teaching reading, and former resident of St. Petersburg, died there Thursday. Born in North Tonawanda, NY, Sept. 16, 1912, daughter of Ellen Beattie Thomas and Bernard Thomas, she was a graduate of St. Petersburg High School, earned her bachelor's in education from the College of William & Mary, attended Columbia University and earned her master's in journalism from Wisconsin University. Mrs. Thomas taught journalism and English in Florida and in the Panama Canal Zone, and later became a reading specialist, spending much of her professional life in the Laboratory School of the University of Chicago. Her work there earned her the Master Teacher's medal. Her book, Improving Reading in Every Class, was selected as a Book of the Year in education. A free lance magazine writer, her articles have appeared in Parents Magazine, Mature Years, Mature Living, Living with Teen-Agers, Popular Photography, Catholic Digest, and a host of other publications. A resident of Middlebury, VT, Ellen was active in community projects, writing slide shows for the United Way, being secretary for the League of Women Voters and Community Action, and writing publicity for Addison County Hospice, the Thanksgiving Food Drive, and the Christmas Shop. She was also a member of the Union Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mrs. Thomas is predeceased by her husband, Sydney Hale Thomas. She is survived by her brother, William Bernard Thomas; two stepsons, George Machlin Thomas and James Carr Thomas; two step-granddaughters, Sanya and Nadia Thomas; and a grand-niece Kerry Ann Yeates. A memorial service will be conducted at the convenience of her family. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Trinity Church in Lenox in care of the Roche Funeral Home, 120 Main Street, Lenox, MA 01240.