Jill Marie Thomas

Jill Marie Anderson Thomas

October 2, 1959 – November 15, 2017

Jill Marie Anderson was born at 10:50 a.m. on October 2, 1959, just four minutes before her twin sister, Joan Michele in Newman Hospital in Emporia, Kansas. Welcomed by her parents Delmer A. Anderson and Mary Joan (Pat) Robertson Anderson, and her elder brother Brent Patton Anderson. Seventeen months later another brother joined the family, Gregg Edward Anderson.

Jill and two of her siblings attended Village Elementary School, and later Jill and Joan were enrolled in one of the first “Middle School’’ projects on the Emporia State Teachers College campus. With a high teacher: low-pupil ratio, they enjoyed a variety of innovative classroom and curriculum experiences in an informal but personalized program which invited and encouraged curiosity, exploration, self-expression and confidence. Jill and her younger brother were among the first young music students in KSTC’s Suzuki Violin programs in the United States.

The family moved to Topeka when their father made a career change in 1971. Jill and her sister graduated from Shawnee Heights Junior and Senior High School where they were active in music and drama activities. The family joined the Shawnee Heights United Methodist Church and they were active in the youth projects. Jill studied music performance at Oklahoma City University.

Jill was an employee of Shawnee County for over 20 years, most of them in the claims/billing department of the Shawnee County Health Agency. She will be remembered by those who have known and loved her for her sunny disposition, love of fun and family, musical talents, her work skills and ethics, and resiliency when faced with life-changing challenges.

She was preceded in death by her father, Del Anderson and grandparents, Goldie and Edward Anderson, and Ellis and Nellie Robertson.

Besides her siblings, Jill is survived by her mother, Pat Anderson; children, Dana and Derek Roberts; and two grandchildren, Olivia and Lucas.