Emma Jean Brock Thomas, 77, of Dalton, Ga., passed away Monday, Sept. 17, 2012.

A funeral service to honor the life of Mrs. Thomas will be held Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 at 2 p.m. at Grove Level Baptist Church with Rev. Chris Mullis and Rev. Bill Walker officiating.  Burial will be in United Memorial Gardens. A White Dove Release Ceremony will conclude the service.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home Wednesday, from 4 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Emma Jean Thomas Evangelistic Foundation or the Gideons.

Mrs. Thomas was born in Bainbridge and attended Georgia Teachers College, where she met her husband. After teaching school in Augusta, she moved to Dalton, where she raised a large family. She was a faithful member of Pleasant Grove Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday School for many years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Bowen Lee Brock and Gussie Ashe Brock; brothers, Bowen Brock Jr., James Edward Brock, Douglas Wooten Brock and Perry Brock and a granddaughter, Katie Hammontree Whitlow.

Survivors include her husband, Dr. Donald Ray Thomas of the residence; daughters and sons-in-law, Angela and Michael Sain of Brentwood, Tenn., Melody and Curt Hammontree of Dalton, Joye and Jim Wills of Ringgold, Mary and Brad Faucett of Dalton and Rose and Eddie Brown of Ringgold; sons and daughters-in-law, Ondray and Brenda Thomas, Mark and April Thomas and John and Amanda Thomas, all of Dalton; grandchildren, Michael Sain Jr., Annie and Jonathan Chakales, Caleb and Sara Hammontree, Brock Hammontree, Jacob Whitlow, Abby and David Thomas, Emily and Thomas Baker, Sam, Sarah, Jack and Anna Thomas, Emma and Elizabeth Faucett, Kelly, Bowen, Brandon and Candace Brown; great-grandchildren, Merriwether Whitlow, Maggie, Katie Charlotte and Bo Chakales; step-grandsons, Curt Hammontree Jr., Brandon and Mitchell Manley.

Julian Peeples Funeral Home, Pleasant Grove Chapel, Dalton, Ga., is in charge of the funeral arrangements.