Lori Rae Thomas

Lori Rae Thomas was born December 24, 1954, in Fort Morgan, CO, and died July 20, 2025, in Fort Worth, TX. The daughter of Arlo and Carlene Watchorn, Lori's family lived in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska before settling in Yankton, SD in the late 1960s. Graduating from Yankton High School in 1972, Lori went on to earn her bachelor’s in psychology from the University of South Dakota in 1976, where she met her future husband, Frank. A week after her graduation, they married and moved to Kansas City, MO, where Frank started graduate school. Lori attended court reporting schools in Missouri and South Dakota and then opened a freelance court reporting practice that eventually resulted in her working as the court stenographer for the Dodge County (NE) Court. Lori and Frank became parents to Allison in 1981. The three of them moved from Fremont, NE, to Lubbock, TX, in 1983 when Frank was accepted at Texas Tech University for his doctoral studies. At first Lori worked as the Placement Coordinator at Texas Tech University School of Law. She then decided to pursue a career in law at TTU and earned her Juris Doctor (law) degree in 1988, graduating magna cum laude. The Thomas family followed Lori's career when she joined the law firm of Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller in Fort Worth. Her practice specialty was insurance coverage, and she was nationally recognized as an expert in her field. Lori finished her career as a practicing attorney at Brackett & Ellis in Fort Worth, retiring in 2022.

Awards and recognitions over her lifetime included being selected to the High School All-State Concert Band (SD), playing contrabass clarinet; being elected to the Order of the Coif (national legal honor society) and Texas Tech Law Review; earning membership in the Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Delta Phi honor societies; achieving partner at both Fort Worth law firms; and being admitted to the US Court of Appeals (5th Circuit, New Orleans), which is one step below the US Supreme Court. Lori was a Fellow of the Texas State Bar Association and served as an officer of Ballet Lubbock and the Ballet Lubbock Guild. She presented many continuing education seminars for various insurance companies and legal organizations and authored numerous papers and legal briefs cited (and admired) by her peers.

Lori was not flashy. Her legal colleagues described her as the "brains" behind their opinions, choosing to research, advise, and write rather than argue cases in court. All knew Lori to be witty without being showy, collaborative rather than competitive, and brilliant. A friend recently described her as "quietly fierce." Her loyalty to family, friends, and principles was consummate. Once she decided on a goal, she tenaciously pursued it. Whether it was righting a wrong, serving a cause, or completing a task, Lori dedicated herself to seeing it to the end. Lori was an avid Dallas Stars hockey fan, a serious birder (bird watcher), and a museum aficionado. Her love of and care for animals was unequaled.

Although health struggles slowed her life most of the last two years, Lori loved to travel. She and Frank drove to all 254 county courthouses in Texas over an 11-year period, and she knew the architectural styles and histories of each. They visited 50 countries over the years, and she traveled to 48 states, including her last trip to a state, Hawaii, in 2024. Lori approached travel like everything else in life, intensely researching and carefully planning so she could squeeze the most out of every moment. An example: When traveling in Russia in 2011, she noticed an error in one of the displays at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, one of the world’s most famous museums. This was brought to the attention of the curator and corrected. Our guide, who had earned a master’s degree in Russian history, was amazed at the depth of her knowledge about the displays at the Hermitage. Brilliance, attention to details that mattered, and caring enough to make things right–that was Lori.

Lori was predeceased by her beloved parents, Arlo and Carlene Watchorn; brother Kenneth; grandparents Carl and Josie Miller; and grandmother Eda Watchorn. She is survived by her husband Frank, Aledo, TX; daughter Allison, Oklahoma City, OK; sister Jenae (Terry) Norton, Yankton, SD; brother Al (Linda) Watchorn, Monument, CO; nephews Nathan (Janelle) Norton, Omaha, NE and Joshua Norton, Omaha, NE; grandniece Natalie and grandnephew Nathan Norton, Omaha, NE; aunt and uncle, Ardith and Gene Schueth, Humphrey, NE; a host of cousins; and the extended Thomas family, who knew and loved her for nearly 50 years.

Funeral and burial services will be private.

Cards and personal notes may be posted to Allison and Frank care of Thompson’s Harveson & Cole Funeral Home, 4350 River Oaks Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76114 USA. 

In lieu of flowers, we would be honored if you contributed to The Nature Conservancy or Meals On Wheels of Parker County (Texas) in her name.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)