Barbara Courtney Thomas

Barbara Courtney Thomas, 88, of Chapin passed into eternity with the Lord at 3pm on June 22nd at home surrounded by her family, after a heroic battle with pancreatic cancer. Barbara was born June 2, 1935, in St. Augustine, Florida, the 1st child of Eva Brown and Emmett R. Courtney. After the death of both parents she and her younger sister, Joy, moved to Epworth Orphanage (now Epworth Children's Home) in Columbia, SC, in 1948 where she lived until she graduated from Dreher High School in 1953. Barbara's autobiographical novel, Just Pick Up The Pieces, published in 2006, chronicles the two-year period which led her and her sister to Epworth. Barbara remained grateful for the excellent training and care she received at Epworth and she maintained close ties with Epworth until her passing.

Barbara received a BA in Elementary Education from Columbia College in 1957 and her Masters of Elementary Education from USC in 1976. While at Columbia College she served in many leadership positions including Student Body President her senior year. She received the highest honor given at the college at that time, Most Womanly. Barbara remained a loyal alumnus of CC, serving as Permanent Class President until her passing. A bench in her honor stands on the college campus given by her grateful classmates.

Upon graduation she began a thirty-year teaching career, reluctantly retiring in 1994. For the majority of those years she taught sixth grade language arts. She truly loved her career and her students earning the endearing title of “Mama T.” She missed the classroom for the rest of her life. She maintained close friendships with many of her former students throughout the years. For her 1st five years she taught at South Kilbourne and Hyatt Park Elementary Schools, and the rest of her career was in Richland-Lexington District Five, teaching at Irmo Middle School, Irmo Elementary and H. E. Corley Elementary. She earned Teacher of the Year in two of those schools and served as District Five Teacher of the Year in 1984. She was one of the five finalists in the state contest that year.

Barbara had a unique ability to incorporate humor and fun into her classes, especially grammar and the other language arts. Former students fondly remember “Ma Noun” and “Pa Verb” of “The Parts of Speech Family” and how those analogies made remembering the facts easier and fun. She involved students in extracurricular activities such as Student Council and incorporated public speaking into her curriculum, skills which have proven invaluable in the lives of many former students.

Barbara possessed a huge circle of friends which she loved and valued dearly, but she considered her own family as her most precious asset. She was extremely proud of all of them. “Losing my own parents at an early age had a profound effect on me, but the wonderful family God has blessed me with has more than compensated for that loss.”

Barbara spent some of her happiest times working in her garden and greenhouse. She was well known for raising and sharing beautiful tomato and pepper plants every spring. She also enjoyed writing poetry and prose, playing piano, singing, and playing various other musical instruments. She possessed an artistic talent that she regretted not adequately developing.

Barbara loved her church! The family joined Salem Methodist Church in 1964 and she served on practically every church committee. She sang alto in the choir for fifty-five years. In 1973 she wrote and directed a pageant entitled “A House Not Built By Hands” celebrating the church's centennial year.

Barbara was predeceased by her loving husband, Norman, in 2022 after a sixty-three year marriage, her grandson, Gabriel Michael Coy, in 2012, her parents and her sister, Joy Brown, 2015. She is survived by her three children, Gayle Davis (Ken), Pam Coy (Bruce), and Clark Thomas (Laura); grandchildren Kristin Davis (Destin), Julian Coy (Kristen), Carra Coy Beam (Jesse), Rachel Thomas, Adam Thomas, Sarah Thomas and great-grandson, Jackson Coy.

A memorial service will be held at Salem United Methodist Church in Ballentine, SC, (1321 Salem Church Road, Irmo, SC 29063.), on July 8th, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. A private burial of ashes will be held in the Church Cemetery followed by a visitation in the Church Fellowship Hall. Memorials may be sent to Salem United Methodist Church, 1321 Salem Church Road, Irmo, SC 29063, Epworth Children's Home, PO Box 50466, Columbia 29250, or Columbia College Loyalty Fund, 1301 Columbia College Drive, Columbia 29203.