Brenda M. Thomas

Brenda Muriel Thomas, 55, of Greeley died Monday, January 7, 2013 at her childhood home in Platteville, surrounded by family. She had a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was a survivor of breast cancer. Brenda was born on February 12, 1957 in Greeley to Ray Edward and Shirley Ann (Ceretto) Olin.

Brenda was raised and educated in Platteville, graduating from Valley High School in 1975. During high school she was on the Viking Pom-Pom Squad. She then graduated from Highland Hills Beauty Academy.

On March 18, 1978, she married Bert O. Thomas, Jr. at Platteville United Methodist Church. He died on November 3, 2012.

Brenda was a member of the Platteville United Methodist Church and Methodist Youth Fellowship, in her younger years. She was currently a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Johnstown.

She and her husband owned and operated the Mane Event Salon in Greeley. Brenda then worked for District 6 for 20 years, as a nurse and later with the visually impaired children as a braille specialist. She was a partner in Thomas Specialty Advertising. She was the coordinator for Bright Beginnings at United Way of Weld County, which is designed for parent-child education. She worked at Bright Beginnings until she developed pancreatic cancer. She loved her chocolate lab dogs and was a Teddy bear collector. Above all was her love for her family, especially her grandkids. She never missed athletic or school events of her sons and her grandchildren.

Brenda is survived by two sons, Bryson Thomas (Sarah) of Greeley and Brady Thomas (Rachel) of Johnstown; her mother, Shirley Olin of Platteville; sister, Kim (Olin) Nix of La Salle and Tammy (Olin) Salzman (Mitchell) of Westminster; four grandchildren, Shaun Marie LeBlanc of Greeley, Jackson Thomas of Greeley and Ellasyn and Avery Thomas of Johnstown and life long friends, Effie Duran and Robin Schmidt.

She was preceded in death by her husband, an infant daughter, her father, Ray, and her sister, Deborah (Olin) Schoneman-Schwartz.

Visitation will be 1-5 p.m. Sunday at Faith Lutheran Church in Johnstown. Celebration of Life 10:00 a.m. Monday, January 14, 2013 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Greeley.

She loved Christmas, so her family has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Brenda M. Thomas Memorial Fund, which will be used for Christmas baskets for underprivileged families, in care of Stoddard Funeral Home, 3205 West 28th Street, Greeley, Colorado 80634.

Please visit www.stoddardsunset.com to sign online guestbook.

Bryson and Brady invite friends and family to email memories or stories about Brenda or Bert to bthom45@hotmail.com.