Jocelyn Thomas

18, left her earthly jour-

ney at her home on Satur-

day, Oct. 10, 2015.

The daughter of Troy

and Joleen Thomas, she

was born Oct. 20, 1996, in

Bismarck. Jocelyn came

into the world and into

her family’s lives on a

snowy wintry day; it was

a warm-hearted family

story that Jocelyn was

found in a pumpkin

patch, which always

made her laugh. Saved by

grace through faith,

Jocelyn was baptized as

an infant at Bread of Life

Lutheran Church in Mi-

not and later confirmed at

First Lutheran Church in

Minot as a ninth-grader.

She completed her ele-

mentary and secondary

education through Minot

Public Schools, graduat-

ing from Minot High

School in 2015.

Jocelyn was employed

as a server at Buffalo

Wings and Rings and at

Burger King in Dakota

Square Mall at the time of

her death.

Jocelyn was wise be-

yond her years, extremely

articulate, grammar con-

scious and gifted with the

spoken word. Memes,

puns and plays on words

were her thing. A writing

enthusiast and a vora-

cious reader, she taught

herself to read at age 3.

Jocelyn had strong pol-

itical and social views,

which she willingly

shared with anyone in

person or on social media.

She was passionate about

a variety of issues from

women’s rights and gun

control to the LGBT com-

munity and marriage and

gender equality. She en-

joyed staying up to date

on the latest news and

political goings on and

was an avid watcher of

Last Week Tonight with

John Oliver. Jocelyn loved

technology and was also a

serious gamer with Dra-

gon Age being one of her

very favorites.

She had a way with an-

imals, but particularly had

a heartfelt adoration of

cats; her family often re-

ferred to her as the “cat

farmer,” as she tended for

hours to her growing herd

of cats at her dad and

grandparents’ farm.

One of her best kept

secrets was that Jocelyn

was musically inclined,

starting briefly with the

cello and later moving on

to piano, for which she

accomplished star ratings

at contests. She also

learned to transfer those

piano skills to playing the

accordion. Jocelyn was a

devoted Leonardo DiCap-

rio fan, a music enthu-

siast, and could tell you

anything and everything

you ever wanted to know

and more about the Titan-

ic.

Jocelyn fought valiantly

for years with a trans-

parent illness that could

be intensely felt by her

and her family, but

remained unseen by oth-

ers. Her parents and sib-

lings wish for her passing

to set a precedent for her

other family members,

friends and people in the

community about the im-

portance of mental health

awareness, advocacy and

treatment.

She is survived by: her

parents, Troy and Joleen

Thomas, Minot; brother,

Hadley Thomas, Minot;

sister, Thea Thomas, Mi-

not; grandparents, John

and Sheryl Thomas, Vel-

va; great-grandmothers,

Frances Thomas, Velva,

and Verdine Sollid, Moor-

head, Minn.; uncles and

aunts, Nick and Kathy

Schumacher, Kenmare,

Dean Brekke, Sawyer, and

Mark Thomas (Lorie Pos-

sen), Minot; cousins,

Adam, Morgan, Kara

(Kacy), Ross, Dakota,

Mariah, Isaiah, Ava and

Eden; beloved pets, Mia

Sophia, Bella, Cinch and

her herd of farm cats and

numerous other extended

and birth family members.

She was preceded in

death by: her maternal

grandparents, John and

Evelyn Brekke.

Funeral service will be:

10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 16, at

First Lutheran Church,

Minot.

Burial will be: 1 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 16, at Sten-

kjaer Cemetery, Simcoe.

Visitation will be: 4 to 7

p.m. today, Thursday, Oct.

15, at Thompson-Larson

Funeral Home, Minot.

Those wishing to sign

the online register and

share memories may ac-

cess the online obituaries

section at (www.thomp-sonlarson.com).