Thelma Louise Elwell passed away peacefully on Monday, 30 November 2015 at 10:30 PM.  Thelma was born 14 July 1922 in Royal Oak, Michigan to parents Lautie Henderson Sanderson, a member of the Lumbee Native American Tribe of Robeson County, North Carolina, and Ethel Hannah Poole, of Arenac County, Michigan.  She was raised in Detroit in a neighborhood South of 7 Mile Road and East of Woodward Ave.  She attended Greenfield Union Elementary School, Nowlin Junior High School and Northern High School.  After high school, she worked as a waitress in a local restaurant. During the early war years, Thelma was a civilian employee at the US Army Tank Command, first in the Fisher Building and then in the Guardian Building.  She made friendships during this time that lasted her whole life.  She loved this exciting time in her life as a young single woman.  She met her husband Jack through a first cousin, Walter Poole, as he and Jack were both second lieutenant weather officers at Selfridge Army Airfield.  After a brief courtship they were married in Vernon, Texas, 6 June 1944. Shortly thereafter Jack was shipped to the South Pacific to serve out the rest of the war as a weather officer assigned to a US Army Air Corps Photo Recon Unit.  Son John Jr. was nine months old when Jack returned from overseas.

Their first home as a family was in Lorraine, Ohio followed by homes in Detroit, Oak Park and finally Dearborn in 1955.  Son Ronald was born in 1952 while they were living on St Mary Street in Detroit.  As a young family they traveled to many destinations within the US.  During Jack's career at Ford he and Thelma traveled to Europe and South America.  When Jack traveled to England Thelma made a solo train trip from London to Casino, Italy to visit with an old neighbor.  When son Ronald and his wife Judy were stationed in Bitburg, Germany, Thelma accompanied them on a driving tour of several countries in Europe.  Later in Jack's career he was head of Product Development for Ford of Venezuela and they lived in Valencia for two years.  During this time they enjoyed the opportunity to explore several countries in South America including visiting with friends in Brazil. Thelma also traveled with a friend to Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti.

In the early 60's Jack started making noises about eventually moving to a condo.  Thelma informed him that she wanted one more house before that happened.  Being an engineer and designer, Jack got out his drafting board and spent several months designing a home which would include all the features they both wanted.  Once the full working set of plans were finished they were reviewed by a professional architect and OK'd for construction without any modifications.  The home was constructed on the Northeast corner of Rockford and Telegraph in Dearborn and they moved in August of 1965.  Thelma loved every inch of that home and did a great deal of entertaining there.   They lived there until 1972 when they moved to Venezuela.  After returning to the US in 1974 they purchased a condo in Fairlane East in Dearborn, MI were they lived for the next twenty five years.  During this time Thelma did volunteer work at Oakwood Hospital. In 2001 they moved to a two-bedroom apartment in the Henry Ford Village (HFV) Independent Living facility.  They greatly enjoyed their time together at HFV. Jack passed away in 2002 and Thelma continued at HFV in independent living with daily support and then in the assisted living facility. Thelma moved to Brighton Gardens in Plymouth, MI late in 2003 to receive a greater level of support.  She received excellent care there until it became obvious she needed a higher level of support.  She spent her last four years at the Marywood Skilled Nursing Center where she was a favorite of the staff and received excellent care.  Her sons would visit five out of every seven days to be strong advocates, often accompanied by their wives and Thelma's grandchildren.  Marywood exceeded all expectations and is a truly wonderful facility.

Thelma was the beloved and devoted wife of the late John (Jack) R. Elwell, Sr. for 58 years, adored mother of John R. Elwell, Jr. and his wife Theresa and Ronald E. Elwell and his wife Judith, loving grandmother of Krysten E. (Robert) Crawford, John R. Elwell III, Collin J. Elwell, Jennifer E. Elwell, Melissa L. (Raphael) Lushbaugh and Kimberly A. (Brandon) Hanney, loving great grandmother to Kenneth Lee, Damon Norris and Zachary Lushbaugh and great great grandmother to Sophie Priami, dear sister to the late Julian W. Sanderson and the late Everett E. Sanderson, sister in law to Thomas C. (Dorothy) Elwell and aunt to many nieces and nephews.

The immediate family will have a graveside memorial at the White Chapel Cemetery in Troy, MI.  In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions to the Marywood Skilled Nursing Center at 36975 Five Mile Road, Livonia, MI 48154 or to your favorite charity.  Please share a "Memorial Tribute" for Thelma with the family.