Lebanon County PA Archives Obituaries.....Thomas, Carmel M.  October 21, 2011
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  Sharon S. M. shabodeho@aol.com November 25, 2011, 11:55 am
  
  Published in Lebanon Daily News on November 13, 2011
  Carmel M. Thomas 
  
  CORNWALL Carmel Madeline Thomas, "Midge" to her friends of whom there were 
  many, died in the early morning of Friday, October 21, 2011, while being 
  caressed by the hand of George, her beloved husband of 70 years. Midge lived a 
  full and remarkable life. Born in 1915 in Newark, N.J., into the family of an 
  Italian immigrant ladies' tailor, Carmine De Santis, and his wife, a Canadian 
  born nurse, Agnes Senecal, Carmel grew up in a family of over-achievers. Her 
  surviving brother, Vincent, became a physical chemist who participated in many 
  of the great scientific ventures of the 20th century. Carmel was early 
  recognized as a violin prodigy who followed her own passion for music. 
  Carmel's younger sister, Mary, followed her mother as a compassionate nurse. 
  After graduating high school in Chatham, N.J., Carmel moved to Philadelphia to 
  study under Russian born violinist, Jasha Brodksy, who was on the faculty of 
  Curtis Institute of Music. Then, having excelled under his tutelege, Carmel 
  was sponsored by the N.C. Wyeth family in the Wilmington, Del., area and 
  roomed at one point with artist Andrew Wyeth's sister, Henrietta. Next came 
  two years at the University of Miami where Carmel was not only a principal 
  member of the symphony orchestra but a cherished and responsible assistant in 
  the English Department. Then, (fortunately for her husband-to-be and their 
  children), Carmel returned to Chatham to polish her violin skills. By chance, 
  Carmel knew some of the students at Drew University in Madison, N.J., and by 
  chance, one of them, Donald Yott, a student at Brothers College, had 
  befriended some of the students in the theological school (or was it the other 
  way around?). By chance, September 15, 1941, was the first day of the new 
  school year for Drew with a special dinner for the "Drewids" in the Hoyt-Bowne 
  refectory. And Donald Yott welcomed his chance to invite Carmel to meet the 
  students. So, absolutely by chance at the end of the meal, Carmel invited 
  everyone to come to her Chatham home and she would play for them. But, no 
  longer "by chance", George was the one who accepted - and that made all of the 
  difference in their lives. Carmel and George married on September 21, 1942. 
  During World War II, Carmel moved to San Francisco with her husband, by then a 
  chaplain in the United States Navy. There their twin sons, George and John, 
  were born. At the end of the war, George returned to the parish ministry in 
  the Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Church at Berwyn, a career choice 
  that threatened to interrupt Carmel's continuing practice and concert career. 
  Within a year George was back in the Navy and the entire family was sent by 
  troopship to Guam where Carmel endured a year without fresh vegetables. Over 
  the next 20 years the Navy sent the family to all of the usual bases, 
  especially Norfolk (twice), but also to places that became family favorites, 
  Chincoteague, where the family met "Misty", Brunswick, Maine, Cape May, N.J., 
  and Argentia, Newfoundland. In the course of George's career, Carmel endured 
  the hardships of George's year-long overseas tours on her own career, 
  practicing hours a day and continuing as a sought after soloist. When George 
  ended his military career in the mid-1960s and became the chaplain at the 
  Pennington School, Carmel honed her teaching skills at the University of 
  Pennsylvania and later at Rider College where she graduated magna cum laude in 
  1968. She became a first class instructor of French and poetry at the two 
  private boarding schools the couple served. During their six-year stint at 
  Pennington, Carmel and George were selected to chaperone a six member team of 
  college students to run the summer coffee house in Falmouth, Mass. 
  Simultaneously, they hosted a young Thai student who, to express his gratitude 
  requested the queen's household to create a queenly gown for Midge. After six 
  years at Pennington, Carmel and George moved to the Perkiomen School in 
  Pennsburg, where they assisted Headmaster Brown in developing a strong faculty 
  core. Carmel developed close friendships with students and faculty that have 
  continued throughout her life. At the same time Carmel worked with the school 
  to develop cultural programs that brought music, theater, and the arts to the 
  up-country school. She continued in that role as well as performing and 
  teaching music until she and George moved to Cornwall in 2000. The perfection 
  that Midge aimed at in music affected every aspect of her life. She was a 
  remarkable cook, delighting in classic Italian specialties as well as new 
  recipes that she continued to explore even after she had found what her family 
  immediately knew was the perfect cheesecake. Anticipating Martha Stewart by a 
  generation, she was a creative hostess who made her guests feel simultaneously 
  like royalty and at the same time like members of her family. Carmel managed 
  all of this in a life that began, according to her calendar, in 1920, a date 
  which made her younger than her husband - and kept her a prodigy for a few 
  additional years. However, this made for a remarkable compression of time that 
  was explained when Carmel was confronted a few years ago with the question of 
  her actual birth date and she responded, "Do you want my professional age or 
  my chronological age?" In the last few years, Midge was slowed by the ravages 
  of Lewy Bodies syndrome that diminished and then in many ways removed her from 
  the repartee of conversation. Five years ago, her daily violin practicing, 
  which had sustained her for nearly 85 years, ended. Midge is survived by her 
  husband, George; her twin sons, John and George; granddaughters Kate, Colby, 
  and Merri-Beth; grandson, Parker; two great-granddaughters; and by a host of 
  friends who will remember her rapier wit, her boundless energy, her love of 
  her family, and her passion for everything and everyone that she encountered. 
  In more than a few ways, she gave all who knew her the gift of life.
  
  Published in Lebanon Daily News on November 13, 2011 
   
  
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