Jane Andrews Thames

Published 6:23 am Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Jane Andrews Thames died Sunday, June 8, in Ridgeland, Mississippi. She was 83. The cause was complications due to Alzheimer’s disease, the family said.

Thames was born Oct. 2, 1941, in Richmond, Virginia to William E. Andrews and Clara Becker Broaddus. She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1959, where she was head cheerleader. At Averett University, Thames served as editor of the annual and was on the Dean’s List. She graduated in 1961.

In her preserved Tidewater accent, Thames would often share stories of the sock hops of her youth. She loved ballet and dance and was known even then for her exacting attention to detail.

Thames worked as head teller for United Virginia Bank in Richmond. She married Lee Davis Thames in 1970. Together, they shared seven children and lived in a late 19th-century home in Vicksburg, the Galleries. Gardening and entertaining became passions. She designed a boxwood parterre inspired by the Virginia landscaping she grew up admiring. Thames frequently woke shortly after dawn to begin pruning the jasmine beds. She would sometimes, tongue-in-cheek, credit her sanity to gardening.

Thames sold clothing for Doncaster, Inc., a direct-to-customer women’s apparel company. She hosted shows at her home for clients and was eventually named a district sales manager, responsible for overseeing the state of Mississippi.
Her life, like the house, was full. In addition to helping raise seven children, Thames was also an active member of her community. She was especially dedicated to The Church of the Holy Trinity, chairing its altar guild and helping organize the annual turkey dinner. She taught Sunday school and was involved in the Cursillo Movement in the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi.

For a time, Thames was president of the League of Women Voters in Vicksburg. She co-founded the Vicksburg Pilgrimage, an annual event that includes guided tours of historic homes in the town and which continues today. She served as president of both the Sampler Antique Club and the Needlework Guild.

In recent years, as her Alzheimer’s progressed, Thames would still smile at familiar faces, as well as the words “Neiman Marcus.” And even when speech grew difficult, she didn’t lose her ability to deliver a withering glance.

There is a photograph, taken in the ’70s, of Thames jumping on a trampoline. She is mid-air with her hands open to the sky, smiling wide. Her children are clinging to the edge, staring up at her with wonder. She is survived by them: Kendall Spencer; Hampton Thames (Michele), Amzi Thames (Suzanne), Mary Louise McGuire (Dr. Robert), Marshall Thames (Trisha), Holley Lutz (Warren), and Lee Davis Thames Jr. (Virginia). She is also survived by her brothers, Thomas Andrews and Jeffrey Andrews (Christine); her grandchildren, Bryan Nelson (Jackie), Everett Bexley, Alexandra West (John-Dylan), Elliott Bexley, Camille Beneke (Robert), Seeley Thames, Allie Burlingame (Court), Molly Thames, Parker Thames, Davis Thames, Madison Willis, Carver Thames, Sydney Thames, Aidan Thames, Frances Thames and Will Thames; and her great-grandchildren, Tessa Nelson, Charlotte West, Babette Beneke and Caldwell West.

She is preceded in death by Lee Davis Thames, her beloved husband of more than 50 years; her sister, Kay Payne; and her parents, William Andrews and Clara Broaddus.

Thames’ pallbearers are her seven grandsons, as well as Thomas Ramsey, John-Dylan West and Robert Beneke.

A visitation begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 17, in the parish hall at The Church of the Holy Trinity, 900 South St. in Vicksburg. The requiem eucharist begins at 11 a.m., followed by a graveside burial at Cedar Hill Cemetery. After the burial, there will be a celebration of life at Duff Green Mansion, 1114 First East St. All are welcome.