Anne Thomas passes in Creswell

Anne Thomas

Avis Anne Hill Thomas, of Creswell, died on July 6 of complications from lung cancer. She was 73.

She was born on June 2, 1933, to Jess and Carrie (Higdon) Hill in Newton, Kans. She married Norman C. Thomas on August 4, 1957, in Palo Alto Calif. They later divorced.

She grew up on a wheat farm near Coldwater, Kans. Anne moved to Oregon in 1947. After living a year in Ashland, the family moved to a farm near London.

She graduated from Cottage Grove High School in 1951 and the University of Oregon in 1956. She received a master’s degree from UO in 1966.

She was a journalist most of her life. She wrote sports and general news for the Palo Alto Times from 1956-58. In 1969 she went to work for the Cottage Grove Sentinel and was editor from 1974-80. She was arts and entertainment editor for the Ashland Daily Tidings from 1986-90. She worked for the Springfield News from 1990-2003 when she retired after being editor for five years.

She also taught at Mount Shasta Elementary School in 1958-59 and at Sheldon and Churchill high schools in Eugene in the mid-1960s.

She received many awards during her journalistic career, including being named Oregon Press Women’s Communicator of Achievement in 1998.

She loved cats and enjoyed trips to Maui.

She is survived by her daughter, Linda Thomas of Creswell; two cousins, Phyllis Higdon and Sue Leabo, both of Eugene; an uncle, Bert Hill of Talent; an aunt, Florence Smith of California, as well as other cousins.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Humane Society of Cottage Grove.