Barbara Jones Thomas

November 8, 2014 Barbara Jones Thomas passed away peacefully in her sleep on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center following a short illness. She was 63. Barbara survived for nearly two decades following her cancer diagnosis in 1996 and became an inspiration to untold friends and strangers along her life's path. She received the American Cancer Society's Life Inspiration Award for her volunteer work with other cancer patients following her own recovery. She was a member of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham and was a walking testament to her faith, which she shared with all who knew her. Born in Humboldt, Tennessee on April 2, 1951, Barbara later moved to Tuscaloosa to attend the University of Alabama. Following graduation, she settled in Birmingham, where she married her husband of 30 years, Gary Thomas, and they raised their three children. In addition to her husband, Barbara is survived by her children, Clayton Walters Bollig (Daniel) of Knoxville, Tennessee; Martha Graves Thomas and William Barnes Thomas (Ashley) of Dallas; her parents, Ralph and Bettie Jean Jones of Humboldt, Tennessee; a brother, Ralph Jones, III (Camille) of Humboldt; a sister, Beth Jones of Jackson, Tennessee; two grandchildren Mary Reagan Bollig and Clayton Jones Bollig, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins whom she treated as her own. Barbara was predeceased by her sister, Jeanne Jones Little, and is also survived by Jeanne's grandchildren, Josiebelle England Garrison, David Graves Garrison, and Wallis Jeanne Garrison who knew her as their own grandmother. A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Wednesday, November 12 at 11:00 a.m. at Mountain Brook Baptist Church, with visitation on Tuesday, November 11 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Ridout's Valley's Chapel in Homewood. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to UAB's Breast Cancer Research Center or to the Boys and Girls Club of Humboldt, Tennessee. Arrangements under the direction of Ridout's Valley Chapel, Homewood, AL.