Sara Douglass Thomas, 101, passed away January 12, 2009 in her home in Buckhead, surround by her family.

    She was born July 8, 1907 in LaGrange. She was preceded in death by her husband Steffen Thomas who died in 1990, her brothers William, Albert and Warren Douglass, and her grandson Christopher Thomas. She is survived by her children Steffen Thomas Jr., Robin Burnett, Douglass Thomas and Lisa Conner, 10 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

    She grew up in Atlanta attending the 10th Street School and the Girls High School. In 1929 she received her BA in Liberal Arts from Agnes Scott College in Decatur. She earned her Masters Degree in Education and her teaching certificate in Library Sciences from Emory University in 1957. She taught in the city of Atlanta school system for 23 years. She was a recipient of the First Community Art Award given by Madison-Morgan Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of St. Mark’s Methodist Church and the Habersham Chapter of the DAR, both located in Atlanta.

    Sara met and married a young, German artist, Steffen Thomas in 1933. They lived in Atlanta until 1941, at which time they moved to Stone Mountain where they built their home and raised their four children. She retired from teaching in 1972 and pursued her love of traveling, visiting many exotic places around the world.

    In 1973, Sara and Steffen moved back to Atlanta.

    In 1997, her dream of building a museum to honor her late husband, Steffen Thomas who had a 60-year career as an artist in Georgia, came to fruition with the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art located in Buckhead. She spent her remaining years surrounded by the art that she loved so dearly. The public is invited to a memorial service that will be held at the museum on January 25 at 2:30 p.m.

    In lieu of flowers the family kindly requests that donations be made to the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, a 501 (c)(3) organization, located at 4200 Bethany Road, Buckhead, Georgia 30625 which is located near Madison.

    For information please contact the museum 706-342-7557.

Published in the January 22, 2009 edition.