Betty Jeanette Thornton November 28, 1926 - February 26, 2021
- Betty Jeanette Thornton was born on November 28, 1926 to James Albert Mattingly and America Fay Wood in Dallas, Texas. She was a proud Texan, learning to ride horses and live off the land. Her dad worked as a line man and moved the family to Florida in the early 1940’s after a particularly bad hurricane to help rebuild. The family eventually settled in Miami, in a home her father constructed of coral rock and Florida pine, located off Flagler Street and Ponce de Leon Boulevard. Her life changed forever the day she met the captain of the Miami Edison Senior High football team, Ed Thornton. Love would have to wait though; Ed soon joined the Navy and went off to fight in WWII.
One family story says, that on one of their first dates, following Ed’s return, they went fishing near the bay. Betty, already an experienced fisherman, was the first girl he had ever met that would bait her own hook and take the fish off the line. She was his girl. The rest as they say, is history. They were married on September 28, 1945.
Betty worked as a legal secretary while Ed built their home in Coral Gables and finished his degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Miami. They welcomed their first two children during this time, Dorothy Suzanne and Edmund Arwin Jr. Soon, Ed received a job offer in Dallas, so she loaded their Model A Ford, two kids, a few belongings, and drove back to Texas. Once in Dallas, the growing family welcomed daughters Debra Lynn and Robin Elizabeth. While raising four children and keeping the family healthy, she supported the PTA and maintained an active social life. With her loving support, Ed’s carrier took off and a new job took the family to New Orleans. However, they longed for the warm waters of South Florida and by 1958, the family was back in Miami to stay.
Betty, always ready for a challenge, made the decision to go to the University of Miami and received a Bachelor of Education. She was a history teacher for the Dade County School System for several years.
As they got older, Betty and Ed traveled the world, eating good food, drinking great wine, and dancing together. In 1980, they bought a summer home on Lake Toxaway in North Carolina and spent as much time as possible enjoying, “The Lake.” Betty continued supporting Cystic Fibrosis charities, Nova University, and The American Heart Association. She loved visiting friends at the Lake Toxaway Community Center and supporting their many community initiatives. Even following the passing of her beloved Ed in 1994, she continued to go to North Carolina each year and travel the world.
She was an active and passionate tennis player, playing until she was 91 years young. She had many wonderful friends that were very close. “The Toxaway Girls,” would get together every year and travel to Pigeon Forge to enjoy each other’s company and make new memories. In Hollywood, Florida, she and her lifelong friends had season tickets to the Fort Lauderdale Jazz Show and went as often as possible.
With every step and every moment, Betty lived her life to the fullest with music, food, friends, family, chocolate. She was bold, outspoken, loving, and thoughtful. She, in every way, reflected and lived her favorite song from Frank Sinatra, “My Way.”
She is survived by her four children, seven grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. As her last charitable gesture, she has donated her body to the University of Miami Medical School. We love and miss her.
Re the March 3 editorial, “Put politics aside, and focus on priorities:” The Herald’s advocacy of internet sales tax is a bad idea.
Most people would agree that paying $5 to $10 of sales tax on a restaurant meal or a small local purchase is no big deal, but when the tax is hundreds of dollars levied on the purchase of big ticket, non-essential luxury goods, the tax is punitive, excessive and a deterrent against making the purchase.
The livelihoods of the manufacturers (and that of their employees) of these products depend on consumers’ willingness to purchase new and improved versions of products the consumer already owns.
With the economy in bad shape, this is not a time to discourage consumers from buying.
I’m 64 years old and through pursuing “state of the art” and “new and improved.” Two years ago, I began buying spare electrical and electronicproducts to keep in pristine condition, and hopefully, I’ll never have to use them.
The last spare product I intend to purchase will become available in the next few weeks. These are purchases that, hopefully, will last through my remaining years.
Do greedy and/or inept politicians really need more money to squander?
– Philip Cohen, Bay Harbor Islands