Elizabeth Thompson, 87, passed away peacefully at home on January 4, 2019 as her loving son Joe and his partner Eduardo held her hands. Elizabeth was born in rural Alabama and grew up in a nurturing family where she began expressing her talents at cooking and sewing at an early age. She was very close to her grandparents as well, and her grandfather's gardening tips proved useful later in life, as her friends in Tallahassee would certainly attest to the inspiring beauty of her yard in Woodgate.
After graduating high school, she began a career at the Federal Reserve Bank in Birmingham, Alabama, and before long, she met the love of her life, Coleman Thompson, and they were married in 1951. Their son Joe was born in 1956, and soon afterwards, Coleman was called to the ministry. The Thompson family served churches in Missouri and Alabama before ending up in Tallahassee, where Coleman was a much-loved Minister of Education at the First Baptist Church. Elizabeth was well-known for her talents in the kitchen, and was an excellent cake decorator who produced wedding cakes for friends and family and decorated many special cakes for Easter and Christmas. The Thompsons were known in Tallahassee for their Christmas open houses, having over 500 visitors in some years that shared good times and Elizabeth's baked goods. She was also an accomplished seamstress, and worked with her son Joe to produce quilts and table runners, including a table runner made out of Coleman's ties after he passed away in 2016. Elizabeth always enjoyed having a beautiful yard, and along with flowers, kept an active vegetable garden as well. The house in Woodgate was always extensively decorated for Christmas, and won several awards for that!
After her husband Coleman passed away, Elizabeth moved to Palm Springs, California to be with her son Joe, a medical doctor at Kaiser Permanente, and his partner Eduardo. She enjoyed having a collection of African violets there, and found great satisfaction in the blooming cactuses and nesting hummingbirds in the yard. She continued to cook and sew, and was much loved by Joe, Eduardo, and her new friends in California. After a short illness, she passed away comfortably at home, surrounded by family. She was preceded in death by her parents Sam and Willie Mae, her sisters Margaret, Ann, and Barbara, and her husband Coleman. She is survived by her son Joe, his partner Eduardo Carriazo, nieces Eva Shepherd and Jennifer Parker, and numerous other relatives and friends.
Elizabeth was truly a loving mother, devoted wife, and friend to many, and she will be buried next to her husband Coleman at Culley's MeadowWood Memorial Park in Tallahassee.
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