Chapel Hill, NC – Barbara Pierce Thomas, 98, passed away on July 10, 2019 at the DuBose Health Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She was born in Titusville, PA, the second of four children to Stanley and Ludmilla Pierce.

The family moved to the Bay Area when the children were young, and all adopted California as their home. Barbara married Ronald Anderson in 1938. She graduated from Stanford University in 1942. Their daughter, Joan, was born in 1943. The couple divorced in 1945. Barbara married James Thomas in 1947, with whom she had three children, Teresa, Christina, and James.

She held jobs as an administrative assistant in Los Altos public schools and at two travel agencies. Her favorite job was in the Los Altos High School tutorial center. Barbara started a hiking group of about 25 people called the Boonie Stompers. They would hike together on the peninsula monthly.  

Barbara is survived by her four children, Joan Rohlfs of North Bethesda, MD, Teresa Cooke of Greensboro, NC, Christina Thomas of Spokane, WA, James C. Thomas of Chapel Hill, NC; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Redwood groves were one of Barbara’s greatest loves. Memorial contributions can be made to the Sempervirens Fund at https://sempervirens.org/.