Elk Grove — Lillimae Gray Thomas, 99, passed away in Elk Grove, California on May 11, 2023. Lillimae was born on Christmas Eve in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana to Benjamin and Victoria Coker Gray.
A registered nurse for over 25 years, Lillimae was a graduate of the Vanderbilt School of Nursing class of 1947. She was a devoted wife and mother and took a lively interest in her friends and family. A resident of Newport Beach, CA, Columbia, TN and Prescott, AZ, Lillimae loved to travel and was always ready to take a drive or a plan a trip. In addition to extensive travels in the United States, she visited Europe, Russia, China and Australia.
Survivors include son, Les (Leslie) Hester; daughter Victoria (Alan McCullough) Hester; stepson Bruce (Elfrena Foord) Hester; daughter-in-law Tara Sizemore Hester; stepdaughters Elizabeth Kiely, Dr. Susan Thomas (Dawson) Gray; stepson Lawrence (Peggy) Gray; grandchildren Andrew Hester, Jonathan (Emily) Hester-McCullough, Megan Hester-McCullough; step-grandchildren John Dawson Frierson (Lindsay) Gray Jr., Thomas Pierce Gray, Jennifer Stephens; great-granddaughter Katherine Lily Hester-McCullough; step great-grandchildren Chloe Rayne Cassady, and Virginia Lindsay Gray.
In addition to her parents, Lillimae was preceded in death by her husband Coy Franklin Hester; her husband Larry Ford Thomas; and her sons William Joseph Hester and Benjamin Coy Hester.
Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you remember Lillimae
