Thelma R. Washington

1927 - 2016

Thelma Rose Washington, born Dec. 30, 1927, in Detroit, Mich., the eldest of five children of Katie Irene and Floyd King, passed away to glory in Temecula, Calif. on Monday, July 18, 2016. Her mother, Katie, a Native American, left the reservation in Kentucky to marry Floyd King, a business man from Detroit. Thelma spent her younger days in Detroit but the family migrated to Pennsylvania for job opportunities. Thelma, also known as Rosie, developed a strong work ethic at a young age. She talked her way into her first job at 13 as a pot inspector in a factory by making a deal with the manager that if he gave her a chance she would be the best pot inspector ever. She worked there several years while attending school. The family moved to Bakersfield where Thelma picked cotton, and in the summers she traveled to Miami to work as a nanny. She recounted a story to her children and grandchildren that she would often have to take a bus with the children she cared for, and the bus driver would request she sit in the back of the bus because of her color, but that the children sit up front with him because they were white. She told the bus driver she could not do that due to the fact she suffered from motion sickness and would become sick with an upset stomach on his bus and aside from that she could not be separated from the children. He relented and allowed her to sit up front. Thelma married her best friend's older brother, Arthur Washington, and had four children, Arthur, Marion, Sharon and Michele. They lived in Los Angeles. She continued to work and returned to one of her loves - singing. She took classes in opera. She and Arthur separated and Thelma returned to Pennsylvania with her mother. Now as a single mother, she took a job in a skilled nursing home as a nursing assistant, but realized she needed more income to raise her four children. While her children were in school she returned to school herself to study nursing. She graduated and became one of the first African American nurses at Sewickley Valley Hospital. Thelma found her calling as a nurse. In a small town where few women worked, she excelled in her job as a nurse. She first worked in the nursery, and then intensive care and she finished her career as a cardiac care nurse. She worked at Sewickley Valley Hospital from July 22, 1966 through 1992. She retired in 1992 to take care of her ailing mother, moved back to California and reunited with her ex-husband, Arthur. She and Arthur were together until he died in July of 2005. Thelma loved game shows - Jeopardy, The Price is Right, Family Feud and Let's Make a Deal. She appeared on Let's Make a Deal during both Monty Hall's and Wayne Brady's stints. She, her daughter Sharon, and her granddaughter, Camia, won gym equipment a few years ago when Wayne Brady was the host. Thelma was a sports fan, and every Sunday you would find her watching the Steelers. She said one of the best days of her life is when she attended a live game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders in Oakland with her daughter Michele. She also was a fan of all things Pittsburgh - the Pittsburgh Pirates and even the Pittsburgh Penguins. Later in life she took the New Orleans Saints as her back up team due to her granddaughter Kiah's influence. Since Pittsburgh did not have a basketball team she became a Lakers fan. She was known by several nicknames, T-bone, Rosie, Mrs. T, and T-Rose. Thelma never stopped singing. Often one could catch her singing as she washed dishes, or just sat in her favorite chair. She often sang with the choir at the senior center in Temecula. Thelma never had a driver's license but she arrived everywhere she had to go, and she loved to travel. She took trips with her friends to New York and Canada. When she visited her oldest daughter, Marion, in Monterey, the community knew her as the "walking grandma." She enjoyed playing board games with her great-grandchildren, Haven, Madisyn and Alanah. Although baptized as a child, Thelma accepted Christ at the age of 78 at Mountain View Community Church where she attended until her health prevented her from attending. Thelma is survived by her two sisters, Caroline Carter, of Rochester, N.Y., and Ruth Gilmore and her husband, Harold, of Sewickley. Her two brothers, Floyd King and Ellis Donald King, preceded her in death. Thelma and her sisters were affectionately referred to as the "red sisters" due to their signature red lipstick. Thelma told everyone that her greatest joy in life was her family. She is survived by her children, Arthur Washington, Marion Washington, Sharon Washington-Simms and her husband, Ernest Simms, and Michele Washington-Stalling; her grandchildren, Linson Watts, Brandy Watts, Kiah Firebrand, Camia Lopes and Zachary Waterfire; her great-grandchildren, Madisyn Watts, Alanah Watts, Haven Wright and Xia Watts. She is also survived by other family members, Anthony (Tony) Washington, Katherine L. Carter, B. Anthony Gibson, Dawn Gibson, Michael Gibson, Stephen Gibson, Karen Carter, Wayne Carter, Walter Carter, Wesley Carter, Sandra Gilmore, Harold Gilmore Jr., Melissa Gilmore-Fann, Keyanna Celina Smith, Cliff Smith, Siah Smith, Selah Smith, James Hurtt, Aaron Hurtt, Holly Beth Carter, Robert, Benita and Natasha Stalling, Devika and Sydney Stalling, Marsha Webster, Elvira Webster, Donesha Sibley, and Daisha Harris, Dr. Robert Washington and Linda Washington.