Dorothy Thomason Lyles

Dorothy Ann Thomason Lyles, "Miss Dot", age 78, who died Thursday, November 27, 2014 at Lafayette General Medical Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday, December 3, 2014, at 2:00 p.m.at Oakes & Nichols with Jim Thomason officiating. Interment will follow in Polk Memorial Gardens. The family will visit with friends Tuesday from 4:00 to 8:00 p. m. and Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. until time of service. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Survivors include her daughter, Julia Lyles of Oklahoma City, OK.; son, James A. "Tony" Lyles,and daughter-in-law, Cathy Racca Lyles of Lafayette, LA.; granddaughter, Jessica Claire Lyles of Lafayette, LA; grandson, Justin Joseph Gauthreaux of Lafayette, LA; sister-in-law, Katherine Thomason; and brother-in-law, Thomas Taylor. She was preceded in death by her husband, James "Jimmy" R. Lyles; her parents, A.A. Thomason and Annis Overstreet Thomason Pugh; and siblings, Arthur Thomason, Jr., Robert Thomason, Estel Thomason, Hazel Virginia Coffey, and Edith T. Taylor. Dorothy Ann was born April 2, 1936 in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee to Arthur Andrew (AA) Thomason and Annis Hazel Overstreet Thomason, the youngest of six children and adored all of her older siblings and their families. After finishing grades 1-12 in Mt. Pleasant, graduating from Haylong High School in Mt. Pleasant, she continued her education at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, TN, graduating with an Associate Degree. Upon graduation, Dorothy returned home to the Mt. Pleasant area where she worked and met the love of her life, Jimmy Lyles. They were married later on August 24, 1957. On October 25, 1960, they welcomed their first child, James Anthony and less than one year later, October 7, 1961, they welcomed their daughter, Julia Lynn. The family soon moved to Houston, TX, where Dorothy went to work for Union Texas Petroleum. In 1966 Jim was transferred to Crowley with work at which time Dorothy began her career in Lafayette with Skelly Oil, Getty Oil and Texaco, thru all the mergers. The family moved to Lafayette in 1972 to be closer to work for her. Her career with Texaco took her to New Iberia, LA, Morgan City, LA and finally New Orleans, LA offices. Dot and Jim moved to Marrero, LA in 1988 for her job, where she retired from Texaco in 1997 with 31 total years of service. In 1998, Dot and Jim returned to the Lafayette area to be near their son, Tony and Cathy and grandchildren, Justin and Jessica. After Jim's death on April 19, 2002, she remained busy cooking, gardening and caring for her beloved family. Dorothy was a devoted loyal member of Riverside Church of Christ in Lafayette from 1972 until death and helped in any way she could. Dorothy had a true love for the Tennessee Volunteer Sports (UT) of all natures and had an adopted love of U L Ragin Cajun sports. On December 22, 2010 Dorothy was diagnosed with ALS and battled courageously until her death (almost four years) while living with her son in Lafayette. So now God and Dad have their Angel back. The family would like to give special thanks to Dr. De Alvere and all his staff and specialists at the Lourdes A.L.S. Clinic, the crew of STAT Home Health, and all the Doctors and Nurses of Our Lady of Lourdes and Lafayette General Hospitals during her illness. Special thanks go out to her family at Riverside Church of Christ, whom she so dearly adored. Pallbearers are Alan Thomason, Bobby Thomason, Don Coffey, Harvey Briggs, James "Chip" Alderson and Donald Briggs. Jason Gauthreaux and Jim Morgan are honorary pallbearers.