Frances Carolyn Thornton

Frances Carolyn Phillips Thornton passed away on Sept 7th 2015 in her home in Dunwoody GA. By her side were husband Garrett, daughter Lyn and son in law, Dan.

She is survived by her husband of 62 years , Dr Garrett W. Thornton Jr., son Spencer Thornton, daughter Lyn Thornton Peterson & her husband Daniel Peterson, grandchildren Alexander Stephen Wyche & his wife Katie Wyche, Christopher Phillip Wyche, Hunter Vincent Thornton, her sisters, Gwen Nix and Camille Williamson and a lifetime of relatives and friends.

Born in Brunswick, GA to George Tharin Phillips and Evelyn Easters Phillips, “Fran” and her two younger sisters Gwen and Camille grew up in Savannah, GA. During her lifetime Fran wore many hats: An avid swimmer, camp counselor, teacher, big sister, mother, wife with a passion for painting, studied at Valdosta State College and the Savannah College of Art before moving to Abingdon, VA to work for the US Air Force at the Pentagon.

They courted, married and soon moved to Athens, GA where Garrett attended the University of Georgia School of Veterinary Medicine and she attended to the needs of their two children born while he studied. The family relocated to Atlanta in 1959 and eventually opened a family veterinary practice, Thornton Animal Clinic in Chamblee, GA.

Fran embraced a life filled with family, hard work, adventure and of diverse interests. She was a nature lover, a hunter, an artist, a mother, a Sunday school teacher, a world traveler, a sister, a trophy-winning skeet shooter, a grandmother, a member of the Riverbend Gun Club & the Kingsley Garden Club and a proud DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution. She is loved, missed and remembered by the multitudes of family and friends whom she touched, challenged, amused and inspired with her no-nonsense demeanor, old-fashioned ingenuity and southern-bred wit and charm.

Memorial service will be held Friday, September 11th, 2015 at 1:00pm. Christ The
King Lutheran Church, 5575 Peachtree Parkway, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092.
Ph 770-449-1211. There will be a reception immediately following at the Fellowship Hall.