Dorothy Mae Thomas

Dorothy M. (Birlingmair) Miller Thomas, 79, went to be with the Lord on April 11, 2009, at her home in Palo, Iowa. A memorial service will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Gospel Light Baptist Church, 303 Second Ave., Marion, by Pastor Ron Morrow. Dorothy will be laid to rest beside her first love, Robert, in a graveside ceremony at Shiloh Cemetery in Hiawatha at 10 a.m. Monday. Arrangements by Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Wesley and Mabel Clara (Gray) Birlingmair; her first husband and father of her children, Robert Edmond Miller; and her second husband, Howard Gale Thomas. Born December 2, 1929, in Anamosa, Iowa, and raised in Morley, she graduated from high school in 1948. After her marriage to Robert on Dec. 23, 1948, they moved to a one-room school house near Hiawatha, where they operated Miller Road Oiling business until he was killed by an explosion in 1957. Dorothy then moved her family to Cedar Rapids. After her retirement from Barron Motor Supply and The Spring House Restaurant, she married Howard, who shared her love for travel, crafts and needlework until his death in 2003. She accepted Christ as her Saviour long ago, and was a faithful member of Gospel Light Baptist Church. Dorothy is survived by her six children, Norman R. Miller, Gary E. (Rene) Miller, Steven C. Miller, Traci L. (Donald) Nelson, Terri L. (Michael) Garcia and Jill A. Curtis; 10 grandchildren, Jessica (Ed) Franck, Johanna (Joe) Moroney, Lucus Miller, Emily (Benj) Kurtzenleben, Samuel Miller, Daniel (Angie) Nelson, Cory (Marcy) Nelson, Rachel (Jonathan) House, Robert Garcia and Jennifer Garcia; and 11 great-grandchildren.