Thelma became a beautician in the 1930s. After the family moved to Port Hueneme, California, she had her own beauty parlor and worked in that profession until the 1950s, when forced to quit because of arthritis.
Thelma was cremated under the name of Marguerite T. Phipps. John Phipps was her second husband. The funeral home was P. B. Moeller Murphy. Chapel of the Pines Crematorium was located at 1605 S. California St., Los Angeles, California. 90006. Cremation #111363.
Her ashes were given to her daughter, Mary Ann Meeker, of Ogden, Iowa where they were buried in Glenwood Cemetery. Her headstone reads " Mother Thelma M. Barnum b 12-3-1907 d 1-20-1997 Daughter Mary Ann Meeker b 8-7-1931 d --------." Mary Ann (Barnum) Meeker will be buried with her mother.