Rita B. Thomas
Rita B. Thomas, 94, passed away on Dec. 15, 2019, in Winslow.
Funeral services for Rita will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21, at Hallelujah Canyon Full Gospel Church in Hallelujah Canyon, Ariz. A viewing will be held from 9 to 10 a.m. at the church. Burial will follow in Indian Wells Community Cemetery.
She was born on March 15, 1925, in Keams Canyon. Her clans are Tsi naajini (Black Streak Wood) born for Táhii nii (Red Running into the water people). Nali is Kinitichini (Red House People); chei is Kááhanaani (the living arrow) clans. She was a homemaker, rug weaver, sheepherder, horseback rider, loved to drive fast and seamstress.
She is survived by her kids, Kary Begay, Sarah Jim, Samuel Thomas, Gilbert Thomas, Ella Mae Bitsuie and Gary Cooper Thomas; brother, Steven Bahe; half-sisters, Mary Brown and Minnie Begay.
She is preceded in death by her dad, Slim Brown; husband, Park Thomas; husband, Ray Nelson; sons, Johnnie Thomas and Mark Thomas; mother, Zonnie Grant; mother, Bertha Thomas; sisters, Irene Yellowhair, Betty Brown, Esther Parson, Nellie Hoover and Marilyn Brown; and brothers, Jackson Yazzie, Lester Brown and Paul Brown.
Greer’s Mortuary of Winslow handled the arrangements.
