Emy Thomas of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, died on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at her residence. She was 91 years old.
A writer and painter, she was the author of four books: Home Is Where the Boat Is, about the lifestyle of cruising “yachties”; Life in the Left Lane, about St. Croix from the expatriate’s view; A Most Unlikely Story, a Short Memoir of a Long Life; and Hula, her only fiction.
For many of her later years, her principal interest was in painting the land, sea, and skyscapes of St. Croix, first in watercolors, then in oils. She lived in the tropics since 1966, including 13 years on a boat, sailing throughout the Caribbean and Pacific.
In 1986 she settled in St. Croix, where she built a house overlooking historic Salt River. She was born in Connecticut in 1933, the daughter of Philip H. Thomas and Catherine McGeary Thomas Chamberlain. She grew up in New Britain, CT, and was a graduate of Mooreland Hill School in Kensington, CT, where her parents were headmasters; Emma Willard School, Wellesley College, and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
As a journalist, she wrote for several publications in Connecticut, New York, and Puerto Rico, including Newsday (Long Island), the New York World-Telegram & Sun, the New York Herald Tribune, Woman’s Day Magazine, the Ladies Home Journal, El Mundo, and the San Juan Star. Light feature stories were her forte.
She is survived by a brother, Philip H. Thomas of New Britain, CT; three nephews, Philip H. Thomas III, Robert L. Thomas and John C. Thomas, all of Connecticut, and several great and great-great nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Croix Environmental Association, 5032 Anchor Way, Suite 4, Christiansted, VI 00820, or St. Croix Animal Welfare Center, RR2, Box 9250, Kingshill, VI 00850.
