Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path . (Psalm 27:11)

Mabel Virgie Wilkinson Thornton was born to Rev. Isaiah Wilkinson and Lavinia Johnson Wilkinson on January 27, 1925, the tenth of eleven children in Truxillo, Amelia County, Virginia. Rev. and Mrs. Wilkinson were instrumental in the establishment of a high school for African Americans, Russell Grove, from which Mabel graduated with honors at the age of 16 in 1941. The first in her family to attend college, she pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, where she also met her love, Joseph Theophilus Thornton, Jr. in geometry class. Mabel graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. With the ambition "to further education in the rural areas," she began her teaching career in her home county of Amelia.

Mabel and Joseph married in 1950, remaining together for fifty-five years until his death in 2005. Settling in Washington, D.C., they welcomed three daughters into their loving home. Upon joining the Shiloh Baptist Church, they were placed in the care of Bethel Circle under the leadership of Mrs. Cassie Harrison. Wanting to be her best, Mabel graduated with a Master of Science degree in Teaching Mathematics from George Washington University. A gifted educator, she received recognition, awards and respect from colleagues, parents, and students from the beginning of her career to its end with the DC Public School system.

Baptized at the age of eleven, Mabel began teaching Sunday School in her teens, continuing with leadership in Christian Education for more than seven decades. At Shiloh, she joined the John A. Miles Bible Class in 1951 for which she served as co-teacher and head teacher for a cumulative thirty years, also doing a term as Superintendent of the Adult Sunday School. A deaconess, Mabel Thornton gained emerita status after serving for 47 years. She was a member of the Sarah R. Whetts Missionary Group, Co-Founder of the Study, Prayer, and Action (SPA) Missionary Group; member and past president of the YACS (Your Active Christians); Assistant Financial Partner of Investment Club No. 2; Chaplain of the Carter G. Woodson Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History; and served as Chairperson of the Activities sub-committee of the Shiloh Expansion Committee with the responsibility for training over 150 volunteers. In addition, she served as Tithing Consultant to the Circle Leaders' Council and Vice Leader of the Tithing Circle. As Chairperson of the Stewardship sub-committee, she was instrumental in planning and conducting a series of stewardship seminars for the major organizations of the church.

After retirement, Mabel was a Bible and Math tutor at Lorton Prison Complex for five years. She held classes for women experiencing homelessness at Rachel's House. She served in her neighborhood community watch group and was part of the task force that developed the Family Math class in the Shiloh National Urban Coalition Mathematics/Science Center, serving on its Board of Directors and teaching children.

Ever the teacher, advocate, scholar and learner, Mabel deepened and enlivened the senior living community at Greenspring Village in Springfield, VA, where she and her husband moved in 2004. She hosted and led prayer circles, Bible studies, and was active at the Village Church as a reader. As one of a handful of Black residents, she founded a study group concerning the shared history of Black and White Americans, a group that grew from five to over sixty people. She was also a consultant for African American history, racial justice and equity for the Greenspring Village television station. Her last broadcast was during the Fall of 2016.

Mabel stated that her greatest joy was being a mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt. She came to help with the birth of each of her grandchildren, flew or rode to many graduations, and was always just there -- whether close by or hundreds of miles away. She was the first line of defense when younger family members needed an advocate in the classroom. Mabel was the sermon, project, and editor-in-chief, giving her ears and mind, and encouraging all of us to be our best. She had a ministry of hospitality -- opening her home, heart, and kitchen to relatives, friends, friends of friends and anyone who needed a warm welcome, delicious meal, and wholesome, deep conversation. It was her desire to "love all people as Jesus did and to act as He would in all situations, to have a pure heart to do God's will, and to glow with God's love."  She is deeply loved and loved her community well.

Scholar, mentor, teacher, prayer-warrior, and our mother by the spirit and the body left this world for her heavenly home on December 4, 2018.

Mabel W. Thornton leaves three loving daughters, Lavinia L. T. Odejimi, Rev. Marilyn E. Thornton, and Celeste K. T. Brooks; five grandchildren Cecilia C. Olusola Tribble, Rev. Joseph T. Thornton Tribble, Sr. (Heather), Ayobamidele T. Odejimi (Kristina), Lavinia Rose O. Tribble, and Raymond A. T. Brooks; three great-grandchildren Kendi, Isaiah, and Joseph Jr., and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.

The Celebration of Life Service for Mabel W. Thornton will be on Monday, December 17, 2018 at the Shiloh Baptist Church, 1510 Ninth Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20001. Wake at 10:00am and the Funeral Service at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Virginia Union University, Division of Institutional Advancement, 1500 N. Lombardy St. Richmond, VA 23220.