Marian Mellish Thomas

Marian Mellish Thomas

Dec. 9, 1938 – February 14, 2024

Marian M. Thomas fell asleep in the Lord on February 14, 2024, in Charleston, SC.

Born to Nicholas and Diane Mellish in Steubenville, OH, she was the oldest of the three “Mellish Girls,” as they were affectionately known by friends in this former steelmill town along the Ohio River. A life-long member of Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church, in Steubenville, OH, she attended St. Andrews Anglican Church in Appomattox for the past 20 years where she had many friends.

Marian graduated from the “Big Red,” Steubenville High School in 1956, before attending and graduating from Lake Erie College in 1960, with a B.A. in English, which was her favorite subject both to learn and to teach. A constant competitor, Marian relished her days racing mattresses down the stairs at Lake Erie College against the women who would become her life-long friends.

Sometime between Lake Erie College and moving to Washington, D.C., Marian found time to visit Fidel Castro’s Cuba on a French exchange student’s passport. She traveled extensively and was fluent in French and Serbo-Croatian.

Marian moved to Washington, D.C. in 1962 and started teaching at Suitland High School and pursuing her M.A. at the University of Maryland before leaving teaching, getting married, and raising her two sons in Alexandria, Virginia. She was a member and former President of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Alexandria Hospital. Known as the Twig Thrift Shop, it is difficult to know what she enjoyed more: the camaraderie of the women working at the store, or the good work that the money went to supporting.

As her children grew, Marian went back to substitute teaching at T.C. Williams High School, before becoming the volunteer coordinator for the Visiting Nurse’s Association of Northern Virginia, and later the manager of the Thrift Shop for the Society for the Prevention of Blindness in Old Town. Afterwards, she worked with her dear friend, Maureen Anderson, at the consignment store in Alexandria.

Marian moved to Appomattox, Virginia in 1998, a year after her first grandchild was born, so that she could spoil her rotten. Affectionately known as “Bubby,” in Appomattox, because the term “Bubba” was already taken, she could be found over the last 24 years at estate sales, yard sales and auctions, always searching for treasures for her children, grandchildren, or for “Eldon,” the home she restored and loved.

Marian is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law, Evans and Deb Thomas, of Appomattox, Va., and Nick and Missy Thomas, of Folly Beach, S.C., as well as her grandchildren who she loved more than life: Caroline Thomas, Harry Thomas, Crawford Thomas, Catherine Thomas, Eli Johnson, and Ike Johnson. She was very proud of all of her grandchildren and loved attending their football games, swim meets and soccer games: exactly the same things she loved doing for her two sons when they were kids.

She will be interred in July, at Union Cemetery in Steubenville, OH, alongside her mother, father, and grandparents, followed by the Serbian Church Picnic at Holy Resurrection Picnic Grounds in Weirton, West Virginia, with roasted lamb and Kola dancing. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church, 528 N. 4th Steubenville, OH 43952.