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Madeline Dorothy Saremal Thomas ’44

Madeline Dorothy Saremal Thomas ’44, August 8, 2003. Maedline attended Reed for three years, and also attended Columbia. She played music professionally in New York and Oregon, and taught piano and organ for many years out of her studio in Milwaukie, Oregon. In 1966 she married William Thomas ’30, and they traveled to Mexico, Canada, Spain, Portugal, and South America. After his death in 1991, she moved to Washington, D.C., and lived at the Army Distaff Hall (Knollwood). For the local paper, she wrote the column "Out and About," detailing her "finds" in the metro D.C. area, as well as those related to local travel. (She reported a way to travel from Washington, D.C., to New York City using only mass public transportation for slightly over $4.) She also lived in California, Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina. A first-generation American, Madeline’s family emigrated from Canada and Estonia. In 1997 she realized a lifelong dream to travel to Estonia with her daughter. After that, they took a number of trips back to Estonia, and to Canada, Scandinavia, and Europe, even though Madeline was suffering from multiple myeloma. Survivors include her daughter, Tanya, who supplied the details for this in memoriam, a sister, and her best friend for nearly 78 years, Marge Spoelstra.

Appeared in Reed magazine: May 2005

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