Hobert and Nell Thomas will celebrate their 79th anniversary on Aug. 16!
According to their granddaughter Beth Kicker, the pair married Aug. 16, 1947, in Hanceville.
She said they met when they were 3 and 5 years old. Hobert was best friends with Nell’s older brother, and they all walked to school together during their elementary days at the Center Hill schoolhouse.
Nell’s family moved to Hanceville when she was in middle school, but they reconnected as teens in downtown Hanceville when Hobert needed a date to go to the movies with his friends. He saw Nell exiting the Hanceville Drug Store on his way to the theater.
After their first date, Beth said, the two were inseparable. They quickly got married.
Hobert and Nell raised five children, and they have 14 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren, with three more on the way this coming year! That’s 68 direct decedents, plus their spouses.
Hobert and Nell’s life has been a legacy of love and care for both their family and community, Beth said.
Hobert was a full-time pastor in Flint, Michigan, for 30 years and an interim pastor at several Cullman churches for another 30 years. “He can still be found guest preaching at local churches and assisted living in Cullman County at the ripe age of 98!”
Nell was a stay-at-home mother to her children and a supportive pastor’s wife. She sacrificed countless days and long hours as Hobert ministered to the community. Then she came alongside him in many ways as their kids grew and moved out.
“For years, you could catch a glimpse of the two of them walking hand in hand down the hallway of many Cullman County hospitals and nursing homes visiting, encouraging and praying for the sick and lonely.”
Together, Hobert and Nell built a family, and “today they are still a beautiful example of what Christ-like love, servant leadership and faithfulness look like.”
