Rev. Dr. Edgar Thomason Thornton II

GORDON, THORNTON

Posted By: michael (email)
Date: 11/27/2006 at 12:17:04

The Reverend Dr. Edgar Tomason Thornton II, 88, a distinguished religious leader, educator and Fulbright scholar, died on Friday, November 17, 2006 at Legacy Gardens in Iowa City, Iowa, following a lengthy illness.

Funeral services will be held 10:00am Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at the First Baptist Church Iowa City. Friends may call on Tuesday, November 28 at Lensing Funeral Home & Cremation Services-605 Kirkwood Ave. Iowa City.

On-line condolences may be directed to www.lensingfuneral.com

Dr. Thornton was born July 26, 1918, the third son of the late Reverend James R. Thornton and the late Essie M. Thornton of Baton Rouge. He met his wife, Dr. Madge Meadors Thornton, when she was a freshman and he a senior at Southern University, Louisiana. They married in Cleveland, Ohio, not far from his first pastorate in Painesville, on June 14, 1941.

A civic activist throughout his lifetime, Dr. Thornton's career included work with the NAACP in the south at a time when such endeavors were risky for African Americans to undertake. In 1948 he ran for the local city council in Lynchburg, Virginia, while serving as a pastor there. Although defeated, he continued to hold leadership roles in the NAACP, the Red Cross and many other civic, religious, and social service organizations both in Lynchburg and other cities where he lived.

Dr. Thornton served as pastor of Original Providence Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois, from 1958 until 1996. He led that church through two bitter eminent domain battles that put the church buildings in the path of urban renewal projects. Despite the fact that both buildings were razed, the congregations not only remained intact but continued to grow in new locations because of his strong leadership. During that same period, Dr. Thornton also held numerous teaching and administrative positions in the Chicago public school system, along with his wife, Dr. Madge Meadors Thornton, herself a long-time educator and school librarian.

A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a youngster Dr. Thornton attended the laboratory school of Southern University in Baton Rouge. He graduated from that high school and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at Southern in secondary education and the humanities. He was founding president of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Southern. After the required three years of study in the seminary program, he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree at the Oberlin College (Ohio) Graduate School of Theology, and was ordained. Not long after Oberlin later merged with the Divinity School of Vanderbilt University, Dr. Thornton was awarded the Masters of Divinity. He also held master’s degrees from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kansas, and Roosevelt University in Chicago. He had a Doctorate in Religious Education from Central Baptist Seminary and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Sarasota in Florida. In 1948, he was a Fulbright Fellow in comparative education at the University of Nottingham, England.

Dr. Thornton began his career in education in 1942 as principal of Concordia Parish High School in Vidalia, Louisiana. For a year, he served as Executive Secretary of the Broadnax YMCA in Danville, Virginia before becoming Dean of Virginia Seminary and College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and, later, president of Western Baptist Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. During more than 30 years in Chicago, he became noted, not only as a religious leader and educator, but also as a lecturer, consultant and trainer in the field of human relations. Dr. Thornton was also an adjunct professor at Roosevelt University, Governors State University in University Park, IL, and an instructor at both Malcolm X College and McCormick Theological Seminary.

Dr. Thornton possessed a remarkable memory and love for literature, and often peppered his sermons with verse and prose. Prior to his installation in 1958 as pastor of Original Providence Church in Chicago, he served as pastor of Saint John Baptist Church, Painesville, Ohio; the historic Court Street Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Virginia; and Pleasant Greet Baptist Church in Kansas City, Kansas. He received many awards and honors over the years, and was a member of Phi Delta Kappa, and the American Society for Training and Development.

Not long after retiring and moving to Iowa City in 1997, Dr. Thornton accepted an interim appointment as pastor of the First American Baptist Church in Anchorage, Alaska. When the Thorntons returned to Iowa City from Anchorage in 1999, they became active in the First Baptist Church. It is in that church, at 10:00am on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 that funeral services for Dr. Thornton will be held. Interment will follow at Oakland Cemetery.

In addition to his wife of 65 years, Dr. Thornton is survived by two daughters, Dr. Madgetta T. Dungy (Dr. Claibourne) of Iowa City, and Jeannye Thornton Hencke (Paul), of Lanham, Maryland, and a son, Edgar T. Thornton III (Deborah) of Iowa City; thirteen grandchildren: Kathryn R. Dungy of Bradenton, FL, Camille T. Dungy of San Francisco, CA, Matthew-Carlisle T. Hencke (Elizabeth) and Maximillian-Conroy T. Hencke of New York City; Thomas Hencke (June) of Petersburg, WV; John Hencke (Janice) of Blacksburg, VA; Christopher Hencke of Alexandria, VA; Mary H. Tillman (Michael) of Lost Creek, WV, Andrew Hencke of Gaithersburg, MD, Joseph Hencke (Jennifer) of Atlantic Beach, FL, James Hencke (Mariah) of Portland, OR; Meredith M. Thornton and Edgar T. Thornton, IV of Iowa City; and thirteen great-grandchildren. He is also survived by three sisters-in-law: Mrs. A. N. Tate Williams, Mrs. Mary Adams (Oakland), and Mrs. Martha Seawood; and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to his parents, Dr. Thornton was preceded in death by his two brothers, Dr. Junius Thornton and the Reverend Hugh James Thornton.