Bernard Terry Thornton

Bernard Terry Thornton (Terry), age 76, of Clayton passed away at home on Sunday, February 25, 2018. He was born in Toledo, Ohio, to Zeldon Thornton and Josephine Newton Thornton on January 4, 1942.

He married Mary (Lou) Tallman in Toledo on October 17, 1964, and she survives.

After working in industry for a number of years, Terry received bachelor and master’s degrees in business from the University of Toledo and began his teaching career.  At Sioux Falls College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he developed a program in marketing management.  In 1975, he and Mary moved to Albany, Georgia, where he began teaching at Darton College (now Albany State University West Campus).  In 1988, Terry received his Ed.D. from the University of Georgia, while he continued teaching courses in management, economics and business mathematics.  Terry retired from teaching in 2002, and he and Mary moved to Clayton, Georgia.

Terry was involved in a number of professional associations related to business and economics throughout his teaching career.  He was a member of the editorial advisory board for The American Business Review.  Terry also was very active in community service.  He received the “Outstanding Community Service Award” from Darton College five times.  He served in the Dougherty County Kiwanis Club, and for 20 years he was a regular monthly guest on the Today in Georgia program on WALB-TV.  Terry became a member of the Clayton Rotary Club in 2005, where he served as secretary for the past ten years.

In addition to his wife Mary, Terry is survived by brother, Dale Thornton and his wife, Frazene of Tiffin, Ohio, and sister, Patricia A. Wast and her husband, John Wast of Toledo, Ohio; two nieces, Celia Thornton and Erin Bishop; one nephew, Sean Thornton and five great nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Beck Funeral home on Tuesday, February 27, 2018, and a memorial service will be held at St. James Episcopal Church at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 28, 2018.

Burial will take place at the Lake Township Cemetery, Walbridge, Ohio, on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to St. James Episcopal Church P.O. Box 69 Clayton, GA 30525, the American Heart Association P.O. Box 840692 Dallas, TX  75284-0692 or the American Lung Association 1301 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004.

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