WILMINGTON - Mary Alice Thomas (née Mills), age 91, passed away peacefully at her home in Wilmington, Delaware on August 12, 2020. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, she was raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The daughter of Frederick E. and Anna Corcoran Mills, she and her siblings grew up in their close extended family of Corcoran cousins. She attended St. Agnes School in West Chester, PA and graduated from Immaculate Heart Academy in Fountain Springs, PA. Following graduation, Mary Alice worked at Valley Forge Military Hospital for several years. A faithful Catholic, she considered becoming a nun, but instead met and married James B. Thomas, joking that God had given her "a greater challenge." Together they had seven children, with Mary Alice devoting herself to raising them. She also loved her large extended family, frequently hosting reunions, wedding receptions, and other celebrations and fundraisers at their home in Wilmington. While her interests included interior design, furniture, sewing, and old movies, she will be most remembered for opening their home to one and all. It became the gathering place for her children and all their friends, some of whom visited daily and some who stayed for years. Mary Alice was the ever-steady, gentle rock of the family. Many who knew her called her a saint. She will be dearly missed by her family and friends. She was predeceased by her son, Dan, her granddaughter, Emily, and her siblings, Bob and George. She is survived by her adoring husband of 67 years, Jim Thomas, six of their seven children: Jim, Jr., Peter, Fred, Mary, Jane, and Peggy, eleven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, her sister, Rosanne Lofgren, and numerous nieces and nephews. Due to these unprecedented times, church services will be private. However, friends are welcome to attend a brief service at her burial at St. Joseph's on the Brandywine in Greenville, Delaware at noon on Monday, August 17. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Food Bank of Delaware, 222 Lake Drive, Newark, DE 19702 www.fbd.org/get-involved/donate-money or atTAck addiction, P.O. Box 36, Bear, DE 19701 www.attackaddiction.org/donate