She was well respected in the community. Thanks to her upbringing, the affable Marzie Gates Thomas often paid homage to the grandmother who raised her to be humble, compassionate, and to treat people with dignity and respect.
In addition to her own inherent attributes, Thomas trusted God and never forgot the values that her grandmother, Marzie Simpson, instilled.
On June 12, Thomas died at Methodist University Hospital following a short illness. She was 72 and left behind a legacy of service that can be attributed to her faith in God, her church, her family, and her grandmother’s guidance.
“She was indispensable to our office and to the work we do in the community,” said Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District Congressman Steve Cohen, who first appointed Thomas in 2007 to serve as his special assistant for veterans’ affairs and community outreach.
In 2009, the congressman tapped Thomas to be his deputy district director. In 2013, she took on the role of district director. “She was so well liked by the constituents who came into the office and handled them as though she had on white patent gloves,” Cohen said.
Thomas was still on the job when her illness took a turn for the worst.
“An extremely talented administrator, she understood the district and did an outstanding job meeting my constituents’ needs because of a deep familiarity with them as a 16-year newspaper editor and publisher for The Tri-State Defender,” Cohen said.
The weekly African-American newspaper is where Robert Lipscomb first befriended Thomas decades ago when he was formerly Memphis mayor Dr. Willie W. Herenton’s director of both Memphis Housing Authority and Housing & Community Development.
“I knew Marzie for a long time,” Lipscomb said. “She was a good, kind, and decent person who never met a stranger. She was true to her roots and was just a great person. She was willing to help anybody at any time.”
Lipscomb said there was “none better” than Thomas. “I choose to remember her like she was,” he said. “She was just a wonderful person; she was uncommonly kind to everybody. She never had a bad day that I saw.”
Thomas was the youngest of two children born to Thelma and Myrial Gates on July 11, 1952. She and her brother, the late Reverend Richard D. Gates, were raised by their grandmother. Another sister, Aimee Gates, was born later.
“One of the most cherished memories is from when I was just four or five years old,” Gates remembered. “I was so eager to introduce my best friend to my big sister — as if she were my most treasured possession that I wanted to share with everyone. That’s how special she was to me.”
Thomas and her husband, the late Alonzo Thomas Jr., were special to Michael Hooks Sr. as well. What Hooks remembered most about the couple was their ability to touch the lives of people.
“She had been a real public servant. She had real talent and surrounded herself with great people,” said Hooks, a former Shelby County Commissioner and member of the famed Corner Club, where he would leisure and ham it up with Thomas’s husband and other members.
But death would befall Thomas’s husband the first month in 2024. He was the love of her life and her “best friend” throughout their 47 years of marriage. They were inseparable and raised two daughters, Marthel Ellison and Richara Thomas. They also doted on their granddaughter, Madison Ellison.
“While my mother was widely known as a devoted servant and a respected pillar in the community, to us, she was so much more,” said Ellison, the eldest daughter. “She was the heart of our family, our beacon of hope, and the deepest source of love and strength.”
Richara Thomas said her mother was her best friend and one of her greatest teachers. “She was a true foundation of what our family was built upon. I am saddened but take joy in knowing that she is no longer suffering and peacefully in the arms of God.”
Cohen also regarded Thomas as family. “She was like a mother,” he said. “She cared for me greatly — always reaching out to see how I was and offering any help.”
While Thomas’s administrative skills were par excellence to those who knew her, she was widely known as a gospel soloist whose voice was captivating. Cohen was delighted when she sang at the opening and dedication of the Odell Horton Federal Building in 2022.
Thomas was a lifelong member of the historic East Trigg Avenue Baptist Church, where she sang in the choir. She grew up under the tutelage of the famed gospel songwriter Dr. William H. Brewster and continued to serve under the leadership of Pastor Julius Beasley.
“Although our hearts are heavy with grief, we find peace in submitting to God’s will, knowing that her true healing awaited her on the other side,” said Ellison. “She taught us never to doubt God’s plan, and above all, she was a woman of unwavering faith.”
The visitation will be held on Thursday, July 3, from 6-8 p.m., at R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home, 374 Vance Ave., Memphis, TN. 38126. The homegoing celebration is Saturday, July 5 at 11 a.m. at East Trigg Avenue Baptist Church, 1315 S. Bellevue Blvd., Memphis, TN. 38106. The interment will be in Elmwood Cemetery, 824 S. Dudley Street, Memphis, TN. 38104, immediately following the service.
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