Maria Thomas

Maria Thomas, born Roberta Worrick, was a novelist and short story writer known for her Africa-set works including the novel Antonia Saw the Oryx First and the collection Come to Africa and Save Your Marriage and Other Stories. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia from 1971 to 1973 with her husband Tom Worrick and their young son. Tragically, at age 47, she died on August 7, 1989, in a plane crash near Gambela, Ethiopia, alongside her husband while traveling to inspect a famine distribution center.