Edna Thomas

Edna Harker Thomas (April 11, 1881 – April 29, 1942) was a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). She was the first wife of Elbert D. Thomas, a United States Senator from Utah. Edna Harker was born in Taylorsville, Utah Territory to Benjamin E. Harker and Harriet Bennion. She attended Brigham Young University, the University of California, Berkeley, and American University. She was a teacher in the public schools of Salt Lake City. In 1904, she became a member of the general board of the Primary Association of the LDS Church. In 1907, she married Elbert D. Thomas in the Salt Lake Temple. Shortly after their marriage, Elbert and Edna Thomas were sent by the LDS Church to Japan as full-time missionaries. They were missionaries in Japan until 1912; during part of this time, Elbert Thomas was the president of the Japanese Mission. Edna Thomas continued as a member of the Primary Association's general board and in 1929 she succeeded Isabelle S. Ross as the second counselor to May Anderson in the Primary's general presidency. She served in this capacity until 1933, when she was released as a counselor and as a member of the Primary Association's general board to allow her to move to Washington, D.C. with her husband, who had defeated Reed Smoot in the 1932 election to be the United States Senator for Utah. Edna Thomas died in 1942 in Washington, D.C. She was the mother of three children. She was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.