Dolores Laurel Sample Thomas

Dolores Laurel Sample Thomas, 88, died on April 16, 2016 at Wake Forest Baptist Health. Dolores was born on October 1, 1927, in Detroit, Michigan, to Hazel Amelia Carl and Frederick Clinton Sample. She was preceded in death by her husband, Demetrius Charles Thomas; and brother, Gerald Roland Sample. Surviving are one son, Robert Joseph Thomas; five daughters, Cheryl Thomas Sheads, Charlene Thomas McCarthy (husband Paul, Jr.), Caron Thomas Sharp (husband Jack, Jr.), Carole Thomas Herndon (husband Terry), and Cynthia Thomas Black. Also surviving are eleven grandchildren, Bryan Black, Carissa Sharp Mull (husband Kevin), Melinda Sheads Ponce (husband Eduardo), Cari Sharp Weishuhn (husband Eric), Kevin Andrew Herndon (wife Lexi), Shawn Black, Jackie Sharp Womble (husband Trent), Gregory Allen Herndon, Carl Nathan Thomas, Dean Sheffield Thomas, and Paul Burley McCarthy, III; five great-grandchildren, Caleb Ijames, Dylan Ponce, Devan Ponce, Abrielle Ponce, Presley Enza Mull, and two more on the way. She met her husband in New Kensington, PA, where they married and raised their wonderful children. A dedicated mother, her days of child-raising didn't stop. She moved from one town to the next each time one of her grandchildren was born to help care for them. Being a great care-giver was something that always came naturally to her, which is what made her such a fantastic Nurse Anesthetist. Armed with a Master's degree, she immediately found work in each new place she lived. Just as she could get a job anywhere, she had faith everywhere. Unbound by denomination, she regularly attended services of Orthodox, Lutheran, Episcopal, Catholic, and Methodist faith depending on which child she was living with. For more than three decades, she was an active member of both St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church and First Evangelical Lutheran Church where she also taught Sunday School. Visitation will be held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 with funeral to follow at 12:00 PM. Both service and visitation will be held at Mount Tabor United Methodist Church (3543 Robinhood Road, Winston-Salem NC 27106), with Dr. Mark Key officiating. Burial will follow at Forsyth Memorial Park. Flowers may be sent to the church. Memorials may be made to the Ronald McDonald House (http://www.rmhws.org/) or Cancer Services (http://cancerservicesonline.org/).

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