Out-of-state

LITHONIA, Ga. — Rachel Margarette Phillips Thomas was born January 10, 1933 in Alexander, Arkansas to the union of the late Henry Phillips and Mary Humphrey Phillips. She departed this life on August 5, 2019.

The Phillips family moved to Little Rock in the early 1940’s. It was there Rachel Margarette accepted Christ, matriculated among her peers and graduated from schools. She joined the U.S. Navy as a Wave.

Rachel Margarette was pre-deceased by her parents; sister, Eva Mae (Adolph) Jenkins; brothers, Lee (Princess), Lincoln, and Clayton Phillips. She leaves to cherish her memory daughters, Miriam Campbell and Milletus (Dexter) Haynes and son, Mark Price; nine grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. A host of relatives and acquaintances.

Gregory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Home in Decatur Georgia will be handling the arrangements.

AUSTIN, Texas — Karen Louise (Turner) Hobbs died on Saturday, August 3, 2019, at her home in Austin, Texas, after a five—year battle with cancer. She was born on August 22, 1960, in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Karen was retired military, serving in Desert Storm with the Nightingale Squadron at Scott AFB, airlifting the wounded from Ramstein AFB in Germany. After transferring to the reserves, Karen returned to Little Rock to obtain her RN degree and attend Officer’s Training School to finish her Air Force career as a lieutenant.

While in Little Rock, Karen assisted Dr. John Ransom on Arkansas’ historic first heart transplant. Working with Dr. CD Williams as his first assist in all heart surgeries, she helped to open the new Arkansas Heart Hospital as the OR team leader, a role which introduced her to her future husband, who was the project manager for the construction. They married in 1996 and moved to Austin, where Karen continued to work in the OR at various hospitals and surgery centers. Her nursing career ended in 2014 due to a stroke, which can be an indicator of cancer.

Karen is best known around the country as an artisan basket weaver and broom maker. As an instructor and mentor, she touched the lives of her students and other teachers wherever she worked. Focusing on her broom making, she took every opportunity in her travels to seek out other artisans to gain an even greater insight into the craft and the history behind it. It was during these travels that she collected the material to write her book “Swept Away…The Vanishing Art of Broom Making,” which was one of her proudest achievements. Her hope was to inspire a new generation of broom makers to carry on the tradition.

Over the years, Karen touched many lives while she worked her magic, sparking a desire in others to work toward their dreams. Her creative skills included knitting, painting, embroidery, paper making, quilting, jewelry design, pottery, glass bead making, furniture caning, cake decorating, and others too numerous to list. Karen is survived by her husband George “Cisco” Hobbs of Austin, Texas; sister Sherry (Earl) Muehlfarth of St. Louis, Missouri; brother Michael Turner of North Little Rock, Arkansas; and rescue dogs Layla and Ivy.

Karen continued to embrace life and her passions through her five-year battle with cancer. One of her favorite quotes was “Sometimes Courage ROARS, sometimes it SMILES SWEETLY. Sometimes Courage is TEARS AND PAIN and sometimes it HUGS GENTLY. You WILL be strong; You WILL fight; Your light WILL keep shining BRIGHT. May your STRENGTH AND COURAGE be lifted each day, and your FAITH stay strong all along the way, COURAGE ON!”

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Thursday, August 22, 2019, 10:30 a.m., at Ranch Austin, 10313 Circle Drive, Austin, Texas. Please join the family for a festive remembrance of Karen’s life… no ties allowed! Karen was a life-long animal lover, especially her dogs. In lieu of flowers, the family would ask that donations be made to Texas Humane Heroes in her memory through their website www.humaneheroes.org.

HOUSTON, Texas — Dr. Leonard Livingston Thalmueller, 91, formerly from Benton, Arkansas passed away peacefully on July 29, 2019 at home with his family in Houston, Texas. He was born on October 22, 1927 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Celebration of life will be held on Saturday, August 10, 2019 at 12 noon at Dial and Dudley Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that any memorials be made to Pilgrim Lutheran School: 8601 Chimney Rock Road, Houston, Texas 77096. Note: Leonard Thalmueller memorial. Attention: Ashlee Marion Driskell Juarez, Principal. Online guestbook: www.dialanddudleyfuneralhome.com.

IRVING, Texas — JT McDonald, 73, of Irving, Texas, died August 4, 2019 in Irving. Active in the banking industry for over 40 years, JT McDonald was well known and widely respected for his business savvy and his commitment to excellent customer service. His long tenure with HomeBank in Seagoville, Texas, coincided with its growth, development, and expansion. Following his retirement in 2012, JT relocated to Irving, Texas, ultimately coming to share a home with his son and grandchildren. Born July 25, 1946, in Bastrop, Louisiana, JT spent his early years in Mobile, Alabama, where he enjoyed playing baseball, tending to his newspaper delivery route, and selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts door-to-door. After his father’s death in 1962, his family moved to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where JT finished high school, was a tight end on the AHS Badger football team, and stocked shelves at the local grocery store. JT attended Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., on a football scholarship. At OBU, he joined ROTC, participated in the Rho Sigma Social Club, and graduated in 1968 with a BA in Accounting. As a Lieutenant in the US Army, JT was stationed in Kentucky, Virginia, and Colorado. In August 1970, he left active duty to attend graduate school at Louisiana State University. He made his way through numerous accountant positions before moving into the banking world at McIlroy Bank & Trust in Fayetteville, Ark. In 1987, he moved to the Dallas area to work at Seagoville State Bank, later HomeBank Texas. He is a graduate of the Southwestern School of Banking at SMU. In his free time, JT enjoyed playing golf, sitting on the beach, and watching movies—with a particular fondness for 1996’s utterly forgettable Down Periscope. JT disliked airplanes and was known to drive astronomical distances in lieu of flying. He was a stickler for punctuality, a minimalist in his home décor, and a frequent customer at the car wash. Over the years, he welcomed several rescue dogs into his home; in fact, his last act in this world was taking Toby for a walk. Above all else, JT’s greatest joy in life was caring for his family. JT was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Thomas McDonald, of Mobile, Ala., his mother and step-father, Helen and Jim Ed Strong, of Arkadelphia, Ark., his brother, Bill McDonald, of Arkadelphia, Ark., and his nephew, Tom McDonald, of Dallas, Texas. He is survived by his children, of whom he was so proud: daughter, Michelle Hendrix (Zeke), of Charlotte, N.C., and son Andrew McDonald, of Irving, Texas; his precious grandchildren, Nolan and Lydia Hendrix, and Miles and Molly McDonald; and Eloise Ellis (Mark Walsh), of Austin, Texas, the mother of his children. In addition, he is survived by his sister, Elaine Collins (Don), of Arkadelphia, Ark., and his nieces and nephews, Kim McCullough, of Boone, N.C., Shane Tucker, of Searcy, Ark., and Chris Collins of Bethel, Alaska. A celebration of JT’s life will be held Monday, August 12, 2019, 11 a.m., at Donnelley’s Colonial Funeral Home, 606 West Airport Freeway, Irving, Texas 75062. In lieu of flowers, donations to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 841125, Dallas, Texas 75284-1125, would be appreciated.