Lucie Thomas, 76 of Sterling, CO, died Friday, December 6, 2024, at the Sterling Regional MedCenter. A Memorial service will be held at 6:00 p.m., Thursday, December 12, at Halouska Family Chaney-Reager Funeral Home. A private burial will be held at a later date at Sunset Memorial Gardens.

Lucie was born on January 10, 1948, in Sterling, Co and graduated from Sterling High School in 1967. She enlisted in the United States Navy during the Vietnam war and served honorably as a Communications Yeoman 3 until her discharge in 1971.

Lucie graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She worked for over a decade with the Poplar Bluff, Mo. R-1 School District, teaching special needs students and in 2005, Lucie returned to Sterling and soon began teaching in the RE-1 Valley School District; she would retire from teaching in 2021.

Lucie had been a member of the United Methodist Church for most of her life and, until her health began to decline, had been actively involved in church and community organizations.

Lucie was a kind and giving woman who cared deeply about her family, her friends, and her students. Lucie's life, like most, was one of happiness and joy, pain and loss, struggles and determination. Lucie's life, like some, was also about the strength she derived from her faith in God which was deeply rooted in the United Methodist Church.

Lucie came into this world, here in Sterling, on January 10, 1948, to proud parents Martha and Joe Davis who would eventually expand their family to six, with the addition of three more daughters, Cristine, Victoria, and Dawn. Lucie graduated from Sterling High School in 1967 and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1968, serving nearly three years in Norfolk, VA as a Communications Yeoman 3 until her honorable discharge in March 1971.

In April 1971, Lucie married Roger Thomas and a year later they welcomed Brian, followed by Rebecca in 1975, and Devin in 1978. Their marriage, unfortunately, proved to be a difficult one. Between 1972 and 1983, the couple suffered through a traumatic accident in which Roger's right hand was severed, the birth of a critically ill child, and the loss of Lucie's father, Joe, as well as both of Roger's parents. The marriage dissolved in 1986 and, after 15 years of proudly fulfilling the role of wife and mother, Lucie was forced to find employment, often working multiple jobs and long hours. Yet, Lucie's faith carried her through.

While working fulltime, Lucie began the pursuit of higher education by enrolling in Northeastern Junior College and, after a move to Missouri to be closer to her children, graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Education from Southeast Missouri State University. It is this perseverance and a steely determination, though those closest to her will say it's just plain stubbornness, that paved a new path to a career that brought her great contentment. Shortly after graduation, Lucie began working in the Poplar Bluff, MO. R-1 School District, teaching special needs students. In the early 2000's Lucie returned to Sterling and soon began teaching in the RE-1 Valley School District in 2005 and, except for a brief stint with the Colorado Department of Corrections, found the place she would call home for over 15 years.

Lucie, a life-long and avid crafter, had her hand in quilting, cross-stitch, making coffee can stools, creating Styrofoam solar systems with her students, rag-quilting blankets for new babies and new marriages; recipients of which are here today. It was through Lucie's faith that she took immense delight and found an outlet in giving to others from her heart and her own hands.

Lucie would again turn to her faith to carry her through an emotionally devastating and irreparable falling-out with her youngest child, Devin, and a diagnosis of a terminal lung disease in 2019. It was this disease that ultimately forced her retirement in 2021 from the career she loved.

Her life was not always an easy one, but Lucie was always faithful, always trusted her savior to support her, comfort her, and guide her in the darkest of days. It is because of this faith that her loved ones can take comfort assured in the knowledge that Lucie was welcomed home, into the embrace of her Heavenly Father's arms and will rest eternally in peace.

Ms. Thomas is survived by her two sons, Brian Thomas, Cape Coral, FL and Devin Thomas; and her daughter, Rebecca Frizzell, Kansas City, MO. She is also survived by her mother, Martha Davis, Sterling and three sisters, Cris Mooney and Dawn Glenn, both of Sterling, and Vickie Zaba, Golden, CO.

Contributions may be made in Lucie's memory to a charity of your choice.