SPRINGDALE — Lois Maxine Thomas,

age 91, of Springdale passed away Tuesday September 7, 2021, in Fayetteville.

Maxine was born January 5, 1930 in Tulsa, Okla., to Daniel Guyger and Mary Leona Stout. She was fond of talking about being a child during the 1930s and 1940s, about the lovely roses that grew along the path to school in Inola, Okla., about

living on a Boy Scout camp where her father later worked and going to a one- room school in the Logan community in Arkansas. She graduated from high school in Gentry, Ark., and then from Business College in Fayetteville. After being a homemaker and raising four children with her husband of 61 years, “Bill,” she worked in many capacities for more than 22 years with Walmart in Fayetteville and Springdale, finally retiring as a front office clerk.

She is a member of Berry Street Baptist Church in Springdale. The daughter of a missionary Baptist minister, she was a devout Christian, taught Sunday school for decades, sang in the choir, played the piano, and gave much of her time to the churches she attended. Maxine loved her family — family picnics, family holidays, and birthday get-togethers where the modest house shook from all the noise; drives through the Ozarks. Although she rarely did, she enjoyed traveling, and often told of a trip through Denver and of asking Bill to slow down so she could see the sights better, to which he replied, “I can’t, they’ll run over me!” Her favorite farewell: “Please drive carefully. You be good, and I’ll try.”

She was preceded in death by her husband, William Arthur Thomas; and son-in-law, Ted L. Youmans.

Survivors include two daughters, Carolyn Sue Huddleston of Farmington, and Marilyn Youmans of Fayetteville; two sons, Jim Thomas (wife Marilyn) of Catoosa, Okla., and Wayne Thomas (wife Joan) of Springdale; nine grandchildren, Jessica Thomas (husband Jihun Kim), Megan Thomas, Michelle Millican, Natasha Martin (husband Lou), Eric Huddleston (wife Jessica), Shawn Huddleston, Jeremy Youmans (wife Natasha), Shannon Youmans, and Jeremy McDaniel (wife Haleigh); and eight great-grandchildren, Nicholas Millican, Daniel Martin, Devon Youmans, Cashius Youmans, Anya Parrish, Silas Youmans, Zoey Youmans, and Adalynn McDaniel.

Visitation will be 5 p.m.7 p.m. Friday September 10, 2021, at Moore’s Chapel in Fayetteville. Funeral service will be 11 a. m. Saturday at Berry Street Baptist Church in Springdale with burial to follow in Farmington Cemetery under the direction of Moore’s Chapel.

Click this link to view additional details about Maxine’s Services, including any available livestreams: https://my.gather.app/remember/maxine-thomas-2021 .

Memorial contributions may be made to Berry Street Baptist Church, 320 Berry Street, Springdale, Ark. 72764.

To place an online tribute, please visit www.bernafuneralhomes.com .