Thurlene J. DeVilbiss

Thurlene Joyce “T.J.” DeVilbiss, 84, of Sulphur, Louisiana, entered her heavenly home on Saturday, August 31, 2024.

She was born in Sabetha, Kansas, on December 26, 1939, to Alvin and Minnie (Strube) Bauman. T.J. attended Sabetha High School and graduated in 1957.

In 1964, she married Leo Charles “Dev” DeVilbiss. Although they later divorced, T.J. and Dev had four children. They lived in California, Beaumont, Texas; Topeka, Kansas; Glenwood Springs, New Castle; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Roanoke, Louisiana, before finally settling in the Sulphur, Louisiana area. During this period, they also served for a brief time as foster parents.

T.J. began work at PPG Industries in Westlake, Louisiana, in 1976 and retired in 2004; she is believed to be the first woman to work as an operator at that plant. She was an active member of Machinist Union Local 470. During these years, she also developed side businesses, including an Amway enterprise and a lawn care business with an extensive and loyal clientele. After retiring from PPG, she opened T.J.’s Quick Lube in Sulphur, Louisiana, in 2005 and operated it as the sole proprietor until selling it in 2020.

Outside of work, she supported her children’s academic and social activities, taking particularly active roles in the Calcasieu Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Sulphur High School Band of Pride, and Trinity Lutheran Church in Sulphur.

T.J. was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Arwin Bauman; and her sister-in-law, Karen Bauman.

T.J. is survived by her four children and their spouses, son, Nathan and his wife, Lori; son, Dallas and his wife, Kim; daughter, Mona and her husband, Tim; and son, Phillip and his wife, Jennifer; her nine grandchildren, Willamena, Alejandra, Anastasia, Leigha, Haden, Graham, Samuel, Katie, and Trinity; and her four great-grandchildren, Amari, Leo, Ember, and Rowan. Also surviving are her brother, Alvin “Bud” Bauman, Jr. and his wife, Ursula; her sister-in-law, Loretta Bauman; her sister, Marlene Hightower and her husband, Ray; her brother, Dale Bauman; her brother, Galen Bauman and his wife, Karen; her brother, Gene Bauman and his wife, Mary; and her sister, Janet Hoyer.

A visitation will be held on Friday, September 13, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Popkess Mortuary Chapel in Sabetha, Kansas. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, September 14, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at the First Lutheran Church in Sabetha. Interment will be made in the Sabetha Cemetery in Sabetha. In lieu of flowers, her children request that any memorial contributions are suggested to charities that express God’s enduring love and concern for His children on Earth.