BarryHom
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Life a joy ride for coaster lover
Late Akron woman visited amusement parks into her 90s, got money's worth
By Marilyn Miller
Beacon Journal staff writer
As the ride attendant helped the 92-year-old woman to her seat, the young man asked her if she knew what she was getting on.
Mellie Juliette (Cox) Thomas snapped back, ``Of course I do, I wouldn't be at an amusement park if I didn't want to ride.''
When Mrs. Thomas got off the ride, the people standing in line applauded her. After all, not too many 90-somethings ride the Millennium Force at Cedar Point, one of the tallest roller coasters in the world.
Mrs. Thomas, who so relished roller coaster rides, died Monday. She was 95.
``She was spunky,'' said her son, Lonnie Thomas of Akron. ``When she made up her mind to do something -- it was done.''
Case in point: riding the Millennium Force three years ago.
Family members were so opposed, they called her doctor, hoping he would order her grounded. It was, after all, just two months after she had had hip surgery.
``He told us she would be fine and to tell her not to fall out,'' her son said.
In her later years, she also rode the Beast at Kings Island and Space Mountain at Disney World.
The family said when she got off the Millennium Force, she said it was just another roller coaster.
``She always liked going to amusement parks with the grandkids and they loved to go with Grandma. She was a real trouper,'' her son said.
Daughter-in-law Sharon Thomas said Mrs. Thomas served as a dorm matron for summer camps at her church and volunteered to do missionary work in Haiti for several years. She traveled the world and picketed abortion clinics back home.
Services for Mrs. Thomas will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Apostolic Church of Barberton, 1717 W. Turkeyfoot Lake Road. Family visitation will be one hour before the service at the church and 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Newcomer-Farley Funeral Home, 131 N. Canton Road.
Mrs. Thomas had humble beginnings.
She was born in Maggie, Ky., in 1909. She lost her mother at age 10 and became housekeeper and cook for her father and younger brother.
She moved to Akron when she was 20 because of the boom in the rubber industry and because farming was slow in Kentucky. She joined her older sister, who had left Kentucky 10 years earlier.
Relatives say there was an area in South Akron where many former Kentucky residents had settled. They all lived within a 1-mile radius. That's where she met her future husband, Olif Clinton Thomas.
The couple married and had four children. He worked for Firestone and she primarily worked as a housekeeper most of her life and helped to raise many, many children -- her own and others she baby-sat.
Mrs. Thomas loved children.
``For a woman who only had an eighth-grade education, she inspired so many of the grandchildren to get a good education,'' her son said. ``Mostly all of her grandchildren have college degrees, nobody is in jail and nobody is dependent on their parents. I'd say she did a fine job of raising the family.''
Mrs. Thomas was always very independent.
For a while, she lived with her son, Lonnie, and his family. When his children got older, Mrs. Thomas, whose husband died in 1967, moved into an apartment with her sister.
When her sister died she lived by herself, but continued to help raise her children's children and others.
In 1994, when she couldn't get around as well, she moved back in with her son.
``She never learned to drive but loved to travel -- especially by car. She loved the scenery,'' Lonnie Thomas said. ``But it didn't stop her from getting places. She used to picket abortion clinics. I'm not sure if she walked there, got a ride or took the bus, but she was there.''
Mrs. Thomas preferred traveling by car but wasn't afraid to fly. Her most memorable journeys included trips to Israel, Hawaii and, of course, Cedar Point.
Life a joy ride for coaster lover
Late Akron woman visited amusement parks into her 90s, got money's worth
By Marilyn Miller
Beacon Journal staff writer
As the ride attendant helped the 92-year-old woman to her seat, the young man asked her if she knew what she was getting on.
Mellie Juliette (Cox) Thomas snapped back, ``Of course I do, I wouldn't be at an amusement park if I didn't want to ride.''
When Mrs. Thomas got off the ride, the people standing in line applauded her. After all, not too many 90-somethings ride the Millennium Force at Cedar Point, one of the tallest roller coasters in the world.
Mrs. Thomas, who so relished roller coaster rides, died Monday. She was 95.
``She was spunky,'' said her son, Lonnie Thomas of Akron. ``When she made up her mind to do something -- it was done.''
Case in point: riding the Millennium Force three years ago.
Family members were so opposed, they called her doctor, hoping he would order her grounded. It was, after all, just two months after she had had hip surgery.
``He told us she would be fine and to tell her not to fall out,'' her son said.
In her later years, she also rode the Beast at Kings Island and Space Mountain at Disney World.
The family said when she got off the Millennium Force, she said it was just another roller coaster.
``She always liked going to amusement parks with the grandkids and they loved to go with Grandma. She was a real trouper,'' her son said.
Daughter-in-law Sharon Thomas said Mrs. Thomas served as a dorm matron for summer camps at her church and volunteered to do missionary work in Haiti for several years. She traveled the world and picketed abortion clinics back home.
Services for Mrs. Thomas will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Apostolic Church of Barberton, 1717 W. Turkeyfoot Lake Road. Family visitation will be one hour before the service at the church and 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Newcomer-Farley Funeral Home, 131 N. Canton Road.
Mrs. Thomas had humble beginnings.
She was born in Maggie, Ky., in 1909. She lost her mother at age 10 and became housekeeper and cook for her father and younger brother.
She moved to Akron when she was 20 because of the boom in the rubber industry and because farming was slow in Kentucky. She joined her older sister, who had left Kentucky 10 years earlier.
Relatives say there was an area in South Akron where many former Kentucky residents had settled. They all lived within a 1-mile radius. That's where she met her future husband, Olif Clinton Thomas.
The couple married and had four children. He worked for Firestone and she primarily worked as a housekeeper most of her life and helped to raise many, many children -- her own and others she baby-sat.
Mrs. Thomas loved children.
``For a woman who only had an eighth-grade education, she inspired so many of the grandchildren to get a good education,'' her son said. ``Mostly all of her grandchildren have college degrees, nobody is in jail and nobody is dependent on their parents. I'd say she did a fine job of raising the family.''
Mrs. Thomas was always very independent.
For a while, she lived with her son, Lonnie, and his family. When his children got older, Mrs. Thomas, whose husband died in 1967, moved into an apartment with her sister.
When her sister died she lived by herself, but continued to help raise her children's children and others.
In 1994, when she couldn't get around as well, she moved back in with her son.
``She never learned to drive but loved to travel -- especially by car. She loved the scenery,'' Lonnie Thomas said. ``But it didn't stop her from getting places. She used to picket abortion clinics. I'm not sure if she walked there, got a ride or took the bus, but she was there.''
Mrs. Thomas preferred traveling by car but wasn't afraid to fly. Her most memorable journeys included trips to Israel, Hawaii and, of course, Cedar Point.
and 
that she's gone now 
