Ellen Lamar Thomas
LENOX, Mass. — Ellen Lamar Thomas, 95, of 235 Walker St, Kimball Farms Retirement Community, former reading consultant at the University of Chicago and author of books on teaching reading, died May 22, 2008, at Kimball Farms Nursing Care Center.
Born in North Tonawanda, NY, on Sept. 16, 1912, daughter of Ellen Beattie Thomas and Bernard Thomas, she was a graduate of St. Petersburg FL High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the College of William and Mary, attended Columbia University and earned her master’s degree in journalism from Wisconsin University.
Mrs. Thomas taught journalism and English in Florida and in the Panama Canal Zone, then became a reading specialist, spending much of her professional life in the Laboratory School of the University of Chicago, where she trained teachers and helped young people upgrade their reading. Her work there earned her the Master Teacher’s medal.
Her book, “Improving Reading in Every Class,” was selected as a Book of the Year in education. Upon leaving the Laboratory School, Ellen was honored by the senior class for being of special help to them during their high school years and, at their graduation, was awarded an honorary diploma, which became a prized possession of hers.
A free lance magazine writer, her articles have appeared in Parents Magazine, Mature Years, Mature Living, Living with Teen-Agers, Popular Photography, Catholic Digest, and a host of other publications.
A resident of Middlebury for several years, Ellen was active in community projects, writing slide shows for the United Way, being secretary for the League of Women Voters and Community Action, and writing publicity for Addison County Hospice, the Thanksgiving Food Drive, and the Christmas Shop.
