Obituary of Emily Marjorie Barry Thomas

On October 10, 2021, Emily Marjorie Barry Thomas, 78, went to be with her loving Savior after a heroic battle with a serious illness and the associated complications. The attending physician, who cared for her in her final days, said her medical history was the one of the longest and most complex he had ever seen. She had indeed overcome so many medical traumas in her lifetime: poisoning from Agent Orange during her military service in Vietnam, a pulmonary embolus, knee replacements, uterine cancer, open heart surgeries, a broken neck, and the list could go on for pages, but suffice it to say, she was an incredible fighter. She was jokingly nicknamed the Iron Lady by her son-in-law for her incredible constitution and tenacity. Even with her most recent diagnosis of spinal stenosis and osteomyelitis, she was still fighting and hoped to attend her two grandsons’ graduations from high school and college in a couple of years. 

     Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Emily was not a native to South Carolina, where she lived for just over four decades. While a Yankee by birth, she was an adopted Southerner by choice. She was the eldest daughter of Arthur Jackson and Emily Leiding Barry and  had a younger sister, Dorothy Jean Barry, who came to live with her in her final  years of life. Both sisters were markedly shaped by their parents’ German heritage and post -Depression upbringing; needless to say, they both loved the art of the deal and were obsessively frugal and yet unbelievably generous with those they loved. 

    In high school and college, Emily loved sports, excelling at field hockey, fencing, and basketball. She would often love to chin wag about Penn State football (her alma mater). After graduating from Penn State with a BS and from Nursing School at Philadelphia General Hospital (Blockley Almshouse), she immediately enlisted and served her country by caring for wounded soldiers in Vietnam. During her tour of duty in Vietnam, she fell in love with a handsome SEAL team member, Robert Jason Thomas, with whom she had her only child, Tracey Anne Thomas Jones. Sadly, their relationship did not survive for him to see the birth of his daughter. In 2013 she was honored to be a part of the dedication of the Vietnam war Memorial to nurses in Washington DC. However, in her last days, she was still tormented by night terrors about soldiers she was unable to save. 

    She continued her military career serving at Fort Dix and Fort Jackson, where she retired as a Lieutenant Commander. She also earned two Master's degrees: one in psychology from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond and another in Public Health from the University of South Carolina. In the 70’s, she would become the first Nurse Practitioner in South Carolina working in rural health in Eastover, SC. She would often work two or three jobs to make ends meet and raise her daughter single-handedly. When her daughter fell in love with horses, and showing hunter jumpers, she even provided her medical services at horse shows in exchange for entry fees to make her equestrian dreams come true. Along with horses, Jack Russell Terriers stole Emily's heart! She had three beloved fur babies on whom she doted in her final years.

    In her later years, Emily became passionate about serving her church, Northeast Presbyterian church in Columbia SC, where she would regularly check blood pressures and attend to little ones at VBS. She eventually moved from Lugoff to Columbia to be closer to her church family. Her greatest joy was serving on medical mission trips to the slums of Nairobi Kenya; she still longed to go back yet another time and take her grandsons. Every Christmas, she would joyfully  prepare over 200 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child; her closet is already packed full of flip-flops and toys for one more time. Her other great passions were cooking and gardening. Her yards, both in Lugoff and Columbia, were a feast for the eyes, replete with, roses, hydrangeas and crepe myrtles. Every doctor's office, the entire church staff, or anyone with whom she did business would receive a full home-cooked meal and special dessert. 

    Emily Thomas is survived by her daughter, Tracey Anne Thomas Jones (Jonathan); and grandsons, Nathaniel Evan Jones and Brennan Rhys Jones.Memorial services will be held at Northeast Presbyterian Church in November. 

In lieu of flowers, her family requests memorials be made to one of the following charities:

Northeast Presbyterian Church Mission Fund, 601 Polo Road, Columbia, SC 29223,

Operation Christmas Child (www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/ways-to-give/)

Kenya Mercy Ministry ( www.KenyaMercyMinistries.org)

Walter M. Crowe Animal Shelter, 128 Black River Road, Camden, SC 29020

Danny & Ron's Rescue (https://www.dannyronsrescue.org/)