Elvira Thomas

E legant and encouraging to others, always… L oving all that came into contact with her. She was a very… V irtuous woman, who loved the Lord with all her heart and was always… I nspired to lead others to Christ. She was… R ealistic about life and all of its trials and tribulations. She knew and felt… A ssured that her longevity of life was from the Grace of God because he told her that she would live a long life and when someone would doubt that, she would say "were you there" and that would be the end of that conversation. Life's Journey Mother Elvira Thomas was born in Clarksville, Texas on October 17, 1914 to the union of Lossie Spearman and Sam Stenson. She was an only child and would always ask her mother for a brother or sister but would never get an answer, so her cousin Nilon said "don't worry niece, I will be your brother." Elvira's mother died at an early age and she was raised by her auntie and attended school in the Mabry School District of Red River County in Clarksville, Texas. In 1931, she united in holy matrimony to William Morgan and to this union six (6) children were born: Doreatha Russell; and five (5) other siblings who preceded her death: Ollie Mae (Snook) Littleton, Samuel William (Shun/Sam) Morgan, and John Allen (Pete) Morgan. That marriage dissolved and she moved to Amarillo, Texas where she met W.C (Sam) Williams, Sr. and to this union were born: Evelyn (Marie) Hill and (W.C. Williams, Jr. who preceded her in death). In 1956, Elvira moved her family to Denver, Colorado. She also raised her first granddaughter Sherrian (Shafaye) Morgan, and also brought her to Colorado. Elvira was a God fearing woman and once she arrived in Colorado found a church home at Central Baptist Church. Later on, the Lord guided her to Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church where she was a devoted Christian and a respected Mother of Bethlehem. She held the honor of being the first usher and first president of the usher board in her 50+-year membership. She loved and enjoyed preparing the bread/crackers for the Lord's supplement for every first Sunday. She also loved her Pastor, the First Lady and the entire church family; and would tell you about yourself if you said anything against them in her presence. Elvira would tell her family stories about laboring in the cotton fields, so she was not a stranger to hard work. When she first came to Colorado, she worked several jobs to take care of her family, and sometimes would take all the children with her to pick green beans in the farming community. She ironed clothes for an ironing service; she was a housekeeper/domestic worker at the Albany Hotel in downtown Denver; she also cooked and cleaned for private homes in the outskirts of Denver, which also allowed her to bring her children with her. She worked as a nurse aide at Downing Nursing Home; and later on decided to retire but eventually returned to the workforce as a bus aide for the Denver Public School System. She loved riding with the little kids and tried to instill in them the word of God. She would teach them to pray and sing gospel songs. Elvira loved spending time with her family and would have a birthday party just to get the family together. All the family members knew this was a special occasion and would make special efforts to come and celebrate her life. She loved her friends and neighbors at Barney Ford and Bean Tower where she resided. She would share her relationship with God to them because she wanted them to experience the love and joy that she felt; she never met a stranger, and always wanted to share the goodness of the Lord with everyone. She was very thankful to God for letting her live a long life, she would cry and sing praises to God for being so blessed. Once she became a member and a soldier for the Lord's army, she read her Bible every day and committed her entire life to the Lord. She was very active, full of life, even at the age of 100. She would tell us to come visit her but when we got there, she was either gone walking, gone to the grocery store; gone to a senior meeting; or visiting one of her friends in the building. When she got bored, she would use her motorized chair to make a quick get-away to get some air. She loved watching old cowboy TV shows and the "Good Times" sitcom. She was a very creative person when it came to sewing, a great seamstress; she liked crocheting and would make hats and scarves for all of her grandchildren; she enjoyed cooking soul food and baking tea cakes, pound cakes and peach cobblers, especially for our family get-togethers. She was a very loving person and kind hearted, but not a push over and didn't take any stuff from anyone. She was also very strong-minded, opinionated, classy and fashionable lady with a lot of sassiness. We are truly unaware of her life as a young woman and all that she had to endure in the past century but do know that her legacy has inspired all of the young women and men of the family to be better people and to seek a relationship with the Lord. She was full of memories and life lessons. We all enjoyed listening to her stories about the past. She was a strong woman and very independent with her pride intact even unto the end of her journey. Our family will miss her smile, her stories and especially her "tell it like it is attitude"; but THE LORD HAS LET US KNOW THAT SHE IS NOW SAFE IN HIS ARMS AND CAN NO LONGER BE HURT OR HARMED BY ANYONE, and we thank God for his blessing. She stayed the course and has now received her crown of glory. Those left to cherish her memory include her children Doreatha Russell and Evelyn Marie Hill both of Aurora, Colorado. Her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, and many friends. In her 100 year journey, Elvira developed a vast amount of friendships and family-like relationships, which are equally important and worthy of acknowledgement but too many to be mentioned by name.

Funeral Home: Pipkin Braswell Funerals and Cremation - 2050 Uinta Street, Denver, Colorado
Visitation: 5/11/2015 at 4:00 PM - Pipkin Braswell Chapel of Peace - 6601 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO
Service: 5/12/2015 at 11:00 AM - Bethlehem Baptist Church - 3212 High Street, Denver, CO
Cemetery: 5/12/2015 - Following the Service St. Simeon Cemetery - 22001 Colorado 30 Aurora, CO