Obituaries

Mary Louise Graham Thomason, of Macomb, Illinois, passed away peacefully at 4:48 p.m. on February 8, 2024 at The Elms Nursing Home. Her daughter was by her side. Louise was born on March 31, 1928 in Little Rock, Arkansas, the daughter of James Finley and Elizabeth Iowa (Hendrix) Graham. Louise is survived by her daughter, Sharon Evans of Macomb, Illinois, her granddaughter, Halle Evans of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, step-sons Harry Thomason (Linda Bloodworth) of Encino, California and Danny Thomason of Little Rock, Arkansas, and stepgranddaughter, Stacy Zion and family of Huntley, Illinois. She is also survived by a special nephew, Ron J. Pugh and family of The Woodlands, Texas, several cousins, and many, many friends. Louise was preceded in death by her parents, husbands, and son, Jimmy Pennington. Louise’s father worked for the Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas and the family moved often from one small town to another until Louise was 12 years old. Then the family moved to Harrell, Arkansas where Louise graduated from Harrell High School in 1944 at the age of 16. Louise lived in many places in her early adulthood: Muskegon, Michigan; Memphis, Tennessee; Warren, Arkansas; Newcastle, Wyoming. In 1951, Louise and husband, Earl Evans, moved to Houston, Texas and remained there until 1986, when they both retired. During their years in Houston, Louise enjoyed playing piano and organ at Melrose Baptist Church and North Central Baptist Church. She was also very active in PTA and loved crocheting and playing scrabble with her neighbors in Pinewood Village. In retirement, Louise played organ at First Baptist Church in Hampton, Arkansas, and played piano for a gospel quartet. She thoroughly enjoyed playing music with these groups. Following Earl’s death, Louise married Trav Thomason. Over the years, they enjoyed traveling and especially looked forward to the Thomason reunions each July and December.