Sharon L. Thomas

To join the livestream of Sharon's funeral service, please select the link below immediately prior to the beginning of the service, 1 PM Saturday December 17, 2022. You will be re-directed to the livestream. The ceremony will also be archived for later viewing. https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTY3MDc0MjUzMzIyNDAxNyZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw== Heaven’s choir got a lot louder, their harmonies sweeter, as they welcomed Sharon to join in their singing on December 9, 2022. Sharon Ladonna Newton Thomas was born November 15, 1940 to Elmer and Opal Marie Newton in Johnson County Illinois, the 4th of 11 children. After graduating from Vienna High School, Sharon married Dorris Gaylon Thomas of Brownfield, Illinois on her 18th birthday. They were blessed with four daughters, Twila, Trina, Teresa, and Tammy. A skilled homemaker, Sharon spent countless hours preparing hearty meals, sewing dresses for the girls to wear to “singings”, quilting, and preserving produce from their extensive garden. As the girls became more independent, Sharon went to work outside the home, first as an assistant to the Pope County Clerk, then as a secretary for the Special Education Department of the Illinois Youth Center, Illinois Department of Corrections. Singing was the joy of Sharon’s life. She could hear and sing any harmony line. She used that gift publicly with her brothers in the Newton Quartet, and privately as she honed her breath support and range skills while hanging clothes on the clothesline to dry. When the girls were old enough to sing (two years old is old enough, right?) she and they sang in local churches as the Thomas Family. In 1972, she joined the Echoes From Calvary Quartet, again lending her harmonies and powerful voice to the praise of her Lord, Jesus Christ. She continued to travel and sing as long as she was able. Even when disease robbed her of the ability to vocalize, she would listen to and mouth the lyrics of the hymns and gospel songs she loved so much – “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, “The Love of God”, “I Rest My Case at the Cross”… Sharon is welcomed to heaven by her husband, Dorris, her oldest sibling, Cliff, and her youngest sibling, Anita, who preceded her. She is survived by her daughters, Twila Staton (Rev. Mark Staton), Trina Slaughter (Lieutenant Ken Slaughter), Teresa Miller (Scott Miller), and Tammy Adkerson (Gary Adkerson); seven grandchildren – Katherine (Gib) Reynolds, Isaac Miller, Moriah (Josiah Lee) Yates, Josiah Slaughter, Madalynn Adkerson, Emmaline Adkerson, and Samuel Adkerson. She is also survived by her brothers and sisters – Harry and Ronnie Newton of Indiana, David Newton of Texas, Joy Caplinger, Jean Larrison, Susie Eddleman-Summers, Thomas Newton, and Gayla Warren all of Southern Illinois. Sharon no longer has to longingly sing, “I’ll Have a New Body, I’ll Have a New Life”, for she is healed and whole and belting out her praises to Christ, her king! A service honoring the life of Sharon Newton Thomas will be conducted Saturday afternoon, December 17, 2022, at 1 PM at Bailey Funeral Home in Vienna. Pastor Tim Green and Pastor Mark Staton will officiate. Burial will be in the Vienna Fraternal Cemetery. Visitation will be held Saturday, December 17, 2022, from 11 AM – 1 PM at the funeral home. Memorials may be made St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 www.stjude.org Gideon’s International, P.O. Box 14088, Nasvhille, TN 37214 www.gideons.org Shriners Hospital For Children, 4400 Clayton Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110 www.lovetotherescue.org or to Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) Coalition, 7918 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22102 www.multiplesystematrophy.org For the convenience of those unable to personally attend the funeral ceremony, it will be livestreamed. You are invited to join the livestream of the funeral service by selecting the link which will be available by visiting Sharon’s obituary page at www.baileyfh.com Additionally, the service will be archived for later viewing.

Sharon L. Thomas

November 15, 1940 - December 9, 2022