Elizabeth Lang Thurston

Thurston, Elizabeth, 88, of St. Petersburg, died Tuesday May 24, 2005 at Bon Secours-Maria Manor. A native of St. Petersburg, she was active in civic affairs. She was the wife of St. Petersburg funeral director, Edmund Thurston and the daughter of St. Petersburg pioneers, Nell and B.T. Lang. Elizabeth was a member of the Junior League of St. Petersburg, past president of the Stuart Society, and active in Zonta International, Sinawik, the St. Petersburg Chapter of The American Red Cross, the St. Petersburg High School Alumni Association, The Tiger Bay Club, and the St. Petersburg Chapter of Delta Delta Delta Sorority Alumni Society. Most recently she was a member and president of the Southern Women?s Study Group. Mrs. Thurston?s family moved briefly to Indiana after she was born, but soon returned to St. Petersburg where she attended North Ward Elementary School, Mirror Lake Junior High School and St. Petersburg High School, graduating in 1934. She attended St. Petersburg Junior College and then transferred to the University of Georgia, graduating in 1938. After graduation, she returned to St. Petersburg to work for the County Tax Collector, Jay Starkey, and then for the Pinellas County Health Department. At the onset of WWII, she moved to Atlanta where she worked for The American Red Cross. On a trip home for Thanksgiving in 1943, she met her future husband, Edmund, who was stationed at Drew Field in Tampa. They were married in 1946 after his return from The Pacific Theater. Following their marriage, they moved to his home town, Exeter, New Hampshire, but returned to St. Petersburg in 1949. Mr. and Mrs. Thurston were founding members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, where she was an active member of St. Margaret?s Guild and the Altar Guild. On the Episcopal Dioceses level, she was treasurer of the Episcopal Church Women and was on the Board of Directors of Bishop Gray Inn in Davenport. She was also a member of Sunset Golf and Country Club and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. Survivors include her son, Thomas E. Thurston of Fairfax County, Virginia, her brother, James T. Lang of St. Petersburg, and a grandson, David L. Thurston of Falls Church, Virginia. Anderson-McQueen Funeral and Cremation Centers-NE St. Petersburg