Chelsea Marie Thomas

Chelsea Marie Thomas, 23, of St. Joseph passed away Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held 2:00 P.M. Saturday at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph with Charlie McGee of St. Joseph Church of Christ officiating. Friends may call beginning at 1:00 P.M. Saturday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Humane Society of Southwest Michigan or to Berrien County Animal Control. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the Memory Book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Chelsea was born October 31, 1986 in Pontiac, Michigan to Jeffery & Terri (Bell) Thomas. She graduated from St. Joseph High School in 2005 and attended Michigan Technological University and Northern Michigan University. For the last year, Chelsea had been employed at Dawson Manufacturing Co. in Benton Harbor. Chelsea was a teacher for the 4-H Best Friends program. She loved being in the out of doors and taking in all that nature had to offer. Chelsea loved animals from the tiniest to the largest. She would do anything and everything to help an animal in need. Chelsea is survived by her parents Jeffery & Terri Thomas of St. Joseph; two sisters-Kari Thomas of St. Joseph & Kay Thomas of Kalamazoo; her grandparents-Robert & Barbara Bell of Rochester Hills, MI, Ray & Janette White of White Lake, MI, Arnold Thomas of Rochester, MI; aunts & uncles-Sherri Simko of Waterford, MI, Jeffrey Bell of Rochester Hills, MI, Michael & Rebecca Bolin of Novi, MI, Kenneth & Deborah Thomas of Union Lake, MI; fourteen cousins; and her loving canine companion-Whimper.