Era Marie (Ebbie) Kirby Thomas, 92, of Dallas, GA and formerly of Rome died January 12, 2019. Era Marie (Ebbie) Kirby Thomas was born February 8, 1926 in Athens, Georgia. She was the 5th child born to Herbert Milton Kirby and Fellie Ann Rebecca Davis Kirby.
The family moved to Rome, Georgia when Ebbie was three years old in order for Herbert to accept a managerial position at the Celanese Corporation. Ebbie graduated from Girls High School in Rome with an education in Home Economics. She married Homer Calvin (Tom) Thomas, Jr. on January 13, 1944.
While Tom served in the Navy during World War 2, Ebbie lived in Atlanta with her brother, J D Kirby and his family. She attended Art School, where she learned the skills that enabled her to work as a professional photo colorist. After the war ended, Ebbie and Tom made their home in Rome, where Tom was Produce Manager and buyer for Piggly Wiggly stores.
Ebbie was a homemaker, taking care of her family, including her mother, for several years. After her mother passed away, Ebbie worked along with Tom in the Produce Department. After Tom retired from the Piggly Wiggly, Ebbie could be found offering samples of products at the Sam’s Club.
Ebbie was an active member at South Broad Baptist Church, and later at Pleasant Valley Baptist, where she taught a Sunday School Class and sang in the Sanctuary Choir. A prolific poet, she won numerous awards from the “World of Poetry” annual anthology. After moving to Dallas, Georgia in 2003, Tom and Ebbie were active members of the Paulding County Senior Center and the Community Center at the Amberly Apartments where they lived.
Tom passed away in 2004 and Ebbie continued to live at Amberly until 2010, when she moved to Kimberly Assisted Living. A fall in 2017 resulted in a fractured hip, which necessitated a move to the Rehab Center in Dallas. Ebbie was preceded in death by her daughter Emily Hope Thomas, and husband, Tom, brothers Jay Davis Kirby, Albert Judson Kirby, and Cree Elliot Kirby, and one sister, Sylvia Kirby Herndon.
She is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Yvonne and Bob Jenkins of Dallas, Georgia, son and daughter-in-law, Calvin Thomas and Elizabeth Stoehr of Decatur, Georgia, grandchildren Robert Christopher Jenkins (Cindy Lee Jenkins) of Chamblee, Georgia, Amy Jenkins Elkareh (Nabil), Jay Kirby Jenkins (Jenny Criminger Jenkins) of Suwanee, Georgia, great grandchildren Olivia, Lily, and Austin Elkareh, and Thomas and Will Jenkins. Ebbie’s two younger sisters, Bessie Kirby Lyle, and Martha Kirby Glaze (George), sister-in-law Virginia Kirby, and a number of nieces and nephews also survive. Memorial services will be conducted at 2 P.M. Sunday, February 10, 2019 in the chapel of Good Shepherd Funeral Home, 2750 Shorter Avenue.
Following the service, Mrs. Thomas and her husband will be interred at East View Cemetery. The family will receive friends Sunday from 1 until 2 PM. Please visit our website www.
goodshepherdfh.net to post tributes and share memories. Parnick Jennings Sr.’s Good Shepherd Funeral Home is serving the family of Era Marie (Ebbie) Kirby Thomas.
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