Obituary of Thomas, Marcella F.

Marcella Thomas, 70, passed away on January 9, 2013 in Cedar Hill, Texas. She was born on Dec. 15, 1942 in St. Louis, Missouri, to Charles Simon Evans and Pearl Rene Story. Marcella grew up in St. Louis and Riverside, California, where she graduated from Ramona High School in 1960. In 1961 she married Samuel Timothy Pilliter and after his death in 1979 she married John Edward Thomas, to whom she remained a faithful wife for 33 years. Throughout her life, Marcella demonstrated a love of adventure and a strong work ethic. She was at heart an entrepreneur, being the co-owner of three Southern California grocery stores with her first husband Sam, and as part of an owner/operator team with her second husband John of a long-haul trucking business. It was their 15 years of commercial truck driving that afforded her and John the opportunity to traverse the country, visiting each of the 48 contiguous states. She always enjoyed visiting someplace new. Of her life accomplishments she was particularly proud of the work she did with troubled youth, running with her husband John, a Christian foster home for boys, and providing consolation and advice to victims of violent crimes as a Chaplain for the Sacramento Police Department. Marcella possessed an extremely compassionate nature and loved all animals, in particular her various cats and dogs. Children were naturally drawn to her because she never lost her love of play and she had a natural flair for the dramatic. She possessed an insatiable curiosity, for which her father gave her the nickname