Former Gila River Community Governor Mary Thomas passes – prayers are with her family
Visitation for Mary V. Thomas, 70, of Sacaton, formerly governor of the Gila River Indian Community, will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the council ki, Pima and Main streets, and will be carried by closed-circuit television to Sacaton Middle School. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 8 a.m. Thursday at St. Anthony Catholic Mission in Sacaton by Monsignor Ed Meulemans. Burial will be in East Sacaton Cemetery. Mrs. Thomas was born on April 29, 1944, in Phoenix and was a daughter of Elwood Dennis and Elizabeth Smith. She died on Aug. 21, 2014, at Chandler Regional Medical Center.