Laura Mitchell Thomas, affectionately known to many as Nanny, passed away October 23, 2023, at the young age of 74. Nanny was born August 13, 1949, to Margaret Mills Mitchell and the late Rev. J.C. Mitchell.

Nanny was a loving daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, and friend. She was a member of Fairview Baptist Church for 43 years where she was also a member of the choir and spent most of her time active in church, helping with things like Vacation Bible School, GA's, and Sunday School. She loved to travel and go on adventures with her college friends, to sew, to play hymns on the piano, and to spend time in the church and with her family and friends. She was gracious and kind, always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone that needed one. She spent joyous days with her two great-grandchildren, who kept her young. Piper loves her Nanny, and Nanny loved Piper. But above all, Nanny loved Jesus and stayed strong in her faith, always sharing with others when given the opportunity.

In her own words, "On a Sunday night during revival service, I felt the Holy Spirit strongly tugging my 8 ½ year old heart. At that moment, I knew I needed Jesus. I actually think I did that when I felt/heard him speaking to me, and I started walking toward the revival preacher. That was when I said yes. That was 65 years ago. I was baptized the following Sunday on March 30 by my daddy. That was such a special time for me. As I started up the steps out of the water, my daddy leaned over and kissed me on top of the head."

Nanny was born in Poplarville, MS, and raised in Saltillo, MS. In her senior year of high school, her and her family moved to Pontotoc, MS, where she graduated from Pontotoc High School. She went on to get her Bachelor's degree in Biology, with a minor in French, at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, MS, and also received her Teaching Certification from Delta State. She used that degree for many years as a Medical Technologist at Columbus Pathology Lab, Hemotology/Oncology, and Baptist Memorial Hospital.

Nanny and her former husband and lifelong friend, Dan Webb, had two daughters before Nanny remarried Harold Thomas in 1985, and they spent many happy years together before he passed away in February 2007. She is survived by her mother – Margaret Mills Mitchell, Lucedale, MS; daughters – Dana (Randy) Jones, Pontotoc, MS;  Kimberly Conn, Columbus, MS; her grandchildren – Dalton Capps, Flowood, MS; Madison Aycock, Columbus, MS; Jillian Dutcher, Starkville, MS; Mollie Conn, Maggie Conn, and Mills Conn; her great-grandchildren – Piper Jane Aycock and John Russel Barrett all from Columbus, MS; her siblings – Marcia Mitchell, Phoenix, AZ; Ralph (Pat) Mitchell, Pontotoc, MS; and Dr. Tommy (Andrea) Mitchell, Lucedale, MS.

Pallbearers will be Dalton Capps, Randy Jones, Drew Mitchell, Presley Langford, Robert Mitchell, Phillip Mitchell, James Fults, and Rob Hunt.

Visitation will be at Lowndes Funeral Home on October 27, 2023, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM. The funeral service will begin at 2:00 PM officiated by Dr. Tommy Mitchell. Interment will be at Memorial Gardens, Columbus, MS, with Lowndes Funeral Home directing.

Esther 4:14. "I am where I am today for something greater than just today."