Mary Arthur Thornton, 74, of Middleton, died Saturday, December 24, 2005, at Bolivar General Hospital.
The widow of Emmett Clyde Thornton, who died July 3, 2001, she was a homemaker and had worked in the Civil Service in Memphis for 20 years. Mrs. Thornton was born March 20, 1931, in Augusta, Ark, daughter of the late Nathan C. and Effie O’Brien Arthur and lived in Bartlett for 21 years before moving to Middleton in 1990. She was an avid gardener and seamstress, loved to crochet and was a member and former Sunday School teacher at New Bethel Baptist Church.
Services are 1 PM Wednesday, December 28, 2005 at New Bethel Baptist Church with Robert Gibson officiating. Burial is in the Ramer Cemetery near Saulsbury. Shackelford Funeral Directors of Bolivar were in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include a daughter, Laura T. Boyles of Middleton; a son, Emmett Keith Thornton of Middleton; a sister, Joanne Beverly Thornton of Bartlett; two brothers, Nathan E. Arthur of Austin, Ark., and Robert Arthur of Monroe, La.; five grandchildren, Joshua, Rachel and Jeremiah Boyles, Marie and Leslie Thornton and one great-grandchild, Ashton Boyles.