Sara Thornton

Sara Anne Thornton | MOUNDVILLE Sara Anne Thornton, age 81, of Moundville, died July 17, 2011, at DCH Regional Medical Center. Graveside services will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at Oak Hill Cemetery with Rev. Reba Wiley and Rev. Tom Terry officiating and Magnolia Chapel Funeral Home South directing. Visitation will be tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home. She is survived by her three daughters, Lynn Thornton of Atlanta, Ga., Anne Thornton Fletcher (Dr. Steve Fletcher) of Decatur, and Mary Evelyn Thornton of Moundville; and a sister-in-law, Mary Ellen Williams of Gadsden. She was preceded in death by her parents, Andrew and Rubye Taylor of Moundville, and her husband of 57 years, Edwin (Ed) Lynn Thornton of Moundville. She was a beloved daughter, wife, mother, and friend. She was a graduate of Hale County High School. Sara Anne attended Stephens College for Women and then the University of Alabama, where she met Ed, the love of her life. She was a fun stay-at-home Mama and later worked in her father's footsteps as Postmistress at the Cypress Post Office while it was still in operation. She was a lifelong member of the Moundville United. Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday School and played piano and was known as "Miss Sara Anne." She also served for many years as director of the Easter Pageant sunrise program. She enjoyed working as a Girl. Scout leader. She was a member of the Asulikit Club of Moundville. She had a wonderful Southern accent and was known for her laughter and sense of humor. She was blessed to have a circle of friends who were special to her from her teens and twenties to the present day. Sara Anne loved the music of Frank Sinatra, dinner parties with good food and dancing, playing bridge, her Estee Lauder products, football games, and Christmas. She faced illness with, grace and courage. A portion of an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem describes our feelings about her loss: "The golden brooch my mother wore / She left behind for me to wear; / I have no thing I treasure more: / Yet, it is something I could spare. / Oh, if instead, she'd left to me / The thing she took into the grave! / That courage like a rock, which she / Has no more need of, and l have." Pallbearers will be Joe Rice, Raiford Johnson, Wayne Johnson, Joe Seale Abernathy, Sonny Ryan, Jim Lavender, John Ball, Howell Poole, Ronnie Nevin, and Billy Richards. Honorary pallbearers are members of the Asulikit Club of Moundville; Victor and Madie Irene Poole; Bro. Bill Richards; Carissa Richards; her dear Dr. Thomas McDermott and Suzanne McDermott, who took time with her and helped her maintain a wonderful quality of life along with the care of Dr. Gary Newsom, Dr. Mohammad Azam, and Dr. K.M. Dinesh Chandra; much loved friends at Image Makers Salon; Geraldine Bishop and Kathy Miles; the wonderful nurses and therapists of Amedisys Home Health; Hale County EMS; the Hale County Sheriff's Department; Hale County Deputy Arthur Jeames; staff of Specialized Medical Devices; MICU of DCH Regional Medical Center; nurses and PCAs who helped care for her during her hospitalizations; sitters whose kindness and friendship meant so much; and friends of the Moundville community. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Moundville United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 35, Moundville, AL 35474; or the charity of one's choice. Published in Tuscaloosa News on July 19, 2011