Arlicia Gayle Thompson

Arlicia Gayle Singleton was born to the late Patricia and Bobby Lee Singleton on September 14, 1961, in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Patricia, along with Arlicia and her siblings Diana, Richard, and Bridgett, relocated to Sacramento, California, where she attended Ethel Phillips Elementary School. She moved to Aviano, Italy, with her mother and siblings in 1967. In 1969, Arlicia and her family moved back to the United States and settled in Ventura County, Oxnard, CA, where she would spend her youth growing up in church. They were faithful members of Tried Stone Church of God in Christ. Arlicia’s love of God grew and extended into youth ministries, where she sang in the choir and developed outstanding skills in researching Bible verses and quoting books of the Bible. She was known in her youth as one of the top individuals who could reference books and scriptures in the bible faster than most children. As a teenager, she was known as Lady Lisa for her elegance in her demeanor and how she dressed, for being very articulate, and for having a gift for words and vernacular. Throughout her youth, she participated in speeches, plays, and pageants highlighting her personality and childhood. She went on to graduate from Channel Islands High School in 1979.

Arlicia stayed in California after graduation and moved back to Sacramento with her baby sister Bridgett, and it was there that she gave birth to her baby boy, De’mond, in 1984. Arlicia and De’mond relocated to Santa Maria, CA, to live with her mother, before heading east to Wichita, Kansas, in 1988. In Kansas, she worked as a Certified Nurse’s Aide and remained faithful to her roots in the church. She gave birth to her baby girl Le’sa in 1989, and in the summer of 1992, she left Wichita, Kansas, and settled in Van Nuys, CA, to be near her oldest sister Diana and her family.

In 1995, Arlicia moved to Lancaster, CA, in northern Los Angeles County. In 2000, she began her career as a Public Bus Driver for the Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA). Her love and dedication to the job earned her the Recognition of Outstanding Service and Employee of the Month.

Arlicia never met a stranger, and she loved talking to people and hearing them share their stories while she drove buses along the streets and highways. She would witness to people by sharing her testimony about her recovery and the wonders of what God can do, and she always invited a friend to church. In 2011, when Le’sa discovered she was deploying to Afghanistan, she called her mother and said, “I need you to keep your grandson for 7 months.” Without hesitation Arlicia packed up, headed out to Las Vegas, Nevada, where Le’sa was stationed, and made Las Vegas her final home. Le’sa, Tony, Isaiah, and Arlicia joined Bethesda Church of God in Christ in 2011 and fell in love with the leadership of Pastor and First Lady Harris. She always spoke highly of her pastor and first lady and never missed an opportunity to invite someone to church. She continued her work in transportation for Paratransit, servicing senior citizens and people with disabilities. Arlicia retired with 24 years in the public transportation industry, carrying with her the many friends and extended family she met along the way.

She never missed a moment to praise her children for being combat veterans of the United States Army and Air Force and for serving overseas in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Arlicia loved people, and people loved having her around. She was known for being funny, full of life, charismatic, and energetic, and could she tell a story like you’ve never heard it. There was never a dull moment with “Big Lisa” in the room! February 20, 2025, Arlicia would have celebrated 27 years of sobriety.

“We all love you, Lisa, and you truly will be missed.”

Arlicia leaves to cherish in her memory her children, De’mond Singleton (wife Rukaya Singleton) and Le’sa Baccus (husband Antonio “Tony” Baccus), and grandchildren Isaiah Sellers and Jordan Singleton. Siblings Diana Frazier, Richard Singleton, and Bridgett Singleton, as well as uncles, nieces, nephews, and a host of cousins.

"But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace." 

1 Corinthians 15:10 NLT