Dorothy Laine Thomas

Funeral services for Dorothy Laine Thomas will be held Monday, January 17, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. from McClain-Hays Chapel with Dr. Dan Howard officiating. Burial will follow in Cedarlawn Cemetery. Visitation will be held Monday from 11:00 a. m. until time of service. McClain-Hays Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Ms. Thomas, 82, of Philadelphia, died Friday, January 14, 2022, at Baptist Leake Memorial in Carthage. A retired public policy analyst and journalist, she had worked for newspapers in Mississippi and Tennessee, and for a member and committees of the U. S. House of Representatives. An active service volunteer, her work had earned recognition from national and international organizations, and from groups in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Virginia. She also had won writing, photography, and art awards. Ms. Thomas had held offices and chairmanships with the GFWC-MFWC Futura Club of Philadelphia, the GFWC Mississippi Federation of Women’s Clubs, Inc., the National Association of Retired Persons local chapter, Philadelphia-Neshoba County Arts Council, and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, the American Crafts Council, the Neshoba County Philadelphia Historical Museum, Inc., and a charter member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. She had earned degrees from East Central Junior College, Mississippi State College for Women, and George Washington University. Survivors include sister-in-law, Judy Dowdle Thomas of Louisville; and nephew, Robert Dowdle “Dow” Thomas of Louisville. Preceding Ms. Thomas in death were parents, Robert Oren “R.O.” and Elaine Finley Thomas, and brother, Charles Sidney Thomas. Memorials may be given to the East Central Community College Development Foundation, the Philadelphia-Neshoba County Arts Council, the youth activities fund of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, or a charity of choice.