Willa Thomas

Willa Mae (Hines) Thomas, 85, of Tolono, IL (formerly Danville, IL) left this world peacefully at 12:15 PM on February 8, 2025, surrounded by her family at home. 

She was born December 23, 1939, to Ernest and Dorothy (Werkhouser) Hines in Danville, IL. She married her sweetheart, Edward (Ed) Thomas, on August 24, 1958, and he survives.

Also surviving are her children, Edward Allen (Jeri) Thomas of Tolono, Debbie (Mike) Bosch of Mahomet, and Kurt (Debbie) Thomas of Marietta, GA; grandchildren, Lindsey, Matt, Mike, Adam, Samantha, and Collin; nine great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; brother, Richard Hines (Georgia) of Lakewood, CA; and sister, Nancy Kingsbury of Hamilton, MT.

Willa has joined her loved ones in heaven including her parents and two sisters, Pauline Watson and Marge Norton.

Willa graduated from Georgetown High School in 1958, married Ed later that year, and started their family soon thereafter. Willa loved to travel and visit her family spread across the country. She especially loved camping and boating, playing cards with friends, browsing through antique stores, and was an estate and garage sale enthusiast. Willa retired from Hyster-Yale Group in Danville, IL in 2002.

Through the years, Willa enjoyed watching her grandchildren’s sporting activities and again when great-grandchildren came along. For many years during the month of July, Willa traveled to Montana to help her sisters, Nancy and Marge, run the Sula County Store and Campground during their busy season. In recent years when life slowed down, Willa enjoyed sitting on her back porch swing, sipping sweet tea, watching her flower garden grow, and listening to the trains roll through town.

A service to celebrate Willa’s life will be held at 11 AM on Thursday, February 13, 2025, at Sunset Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 3940 N. Vermilion St., Danville, IL 61834. The family will greet friends and relatives for a visitation from 9-11 AM prior to the service on Thursday.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made in her memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, PO Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101 or visit www.stjude.org/hope.

Please join Willa’s family in sharing memories, photos and videos on her tribute wall at www.sunsetfuneralhome.com.