Eula Pearl Thomas, age 99, of Elkhart, Kansas died Thursday, November 17, 2011 at the Morton County Hospital in Elkhart, Kansas. Eula Pearl was born May 10, 1912 near Sparta , Tennessee , the first of two daughters born to her parents, Mary Chatwell Hutson and Robert Hutson.

She moved to the Elkhart area at the age of 8 and had lived here since. Eula Pearl married Nimrod Gillaspie in 1928, and they had eight children together. After his death in 1955 she married Cecil Thomas on December 15, 1955 , and they were together almost 40 years. Eula Pearl had many jobs in her long lifetime, most notably a nurses aide at the old Elkhart Hospital under Dr. Buckmaster, also over 25 years at Fisher’s International Harvester Store, and as a bus driver in the Elkhart Schools for many years. Eula Pearl was a member of the First Christian Church of Elkhart .

Survivors include six children: (sons) Joe and Juanita Gillaspie of Rozel , Kansas ; Don and Beverly Gillaspie of Gatesville , Texas ; Morris and Letha Gillaspie of Douglass , Kansas ; and (daughters) Betty and Larry Davolt of Keyes , Oklahoma ; Belva McBee, Tyrone , Oklahoma and Virginia Bracken of Burleson , Texas . 19 grandchildren, numerous great and great-great grandchildren.

Eula was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, and two children, Robert Gillaspie and Wilma Truhlar and one sister, Geneva Milan.

Funeral service will be held Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 10:00 AM at the First Christian Church in Elkhart , Kansas with Pastor Jim Cunningham officiating. Interment will follow at the Elkhart Cemetery . Friends may call Friday, November 18, 2011 from 1:00 PM until 8:00 PM at Garnand Funeral Home in Elkhart, Kansas with family present from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM. Memorials may be given to the donor’s choice in care of Garnand Funeral Home, P.O. Box 854, Elkhart, KS 67950 .