Carolyn Del Wood Thatcher, widow of Lewis P. Thatcher Jr, died on May 1, 2025. She was 93 years old. Carolyn was born on May 20, 1931 in Chattanooga, daughter of E. Del Wood and Iva Jones Wood. They made their home in Riverview. Her brother was E. Del Wood, Jr., who resided in Birmingham, Alabama.
Mrs. Thatcher attended Normal Park School and graduated in 1949 from Girls’ Preparatory School. She attended Randolph Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, VA and graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. After teaching school for three years, she joined the Chattanooga Times staff where she wrote a weekly column of people and events in Chattanooga called “Among Those Present.”
On February 15, 1958, she was married to Lewis Patterson Thatcher, Jr. (Pat) of Signal Mountain at First Presbyterian Church by Dr. James L. Fowle.
Mrs. Thatcher was a lifetime member of First Presbyterian Church, a member of the Junior League, Nancy Ward Chapter DAR, First Families of Hamilton County and Tennessee, and the Signal Mountain Garden Club.
She is survived by two daughters, Catherine Wood Thatcher Traver (Doug) of Knoxville and Elizabeth Lewis Thatcher Bryant (Mark) of Signal Mountain, and one son Lewis DeLeon Thatcher (Marita) of Sale Creek.
Her grandchildren are Douglas Dunlap Traver, Jr. (Natalie) and James Patterson Wood Traver of Knoxville and Catherine Iva Carolyn Bryant of Signal Mountain. Her great grandchildren are Douglas Dunlap Traver III and Cannon Ellis Traver of Knoxville.
She is also survived by 2 nephews, E. Del Wood III and Stephen H. Wood, both of Birmingham and a cousin, Mrs. Mary Catherine Jones Roote of Stephenson, Alabama.
The service will be Monday, May 5 at 11:00am at the Chattanooga Funeral Home North on Highway 153; burial will be immediately following the service at Chattanooga Memorial Park. The family will receive visitors on Sunday, May 4 from 5:00pm – 7:00pm at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Chattanooga.
Arrangements are under the care of the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson. Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com
