The Life of Stafford Earl Thornton
Husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, friend. Stafford Earl Thornton, 89, of Foxfire, North Carolina, and formerly of Charlton Heights, West Virginia, died peacefully in Pinehurst on February 19, 2024.
He was born in a log cabin in the woods of Campbell County, Virginia in 1934 to Iva and Frank Thornton. After his father’s untimely death in 1934, Stafford was adopted and raised in Roanoke, Virginia by his aunt and uncle, Bessie Thornton and Carlton Wilson Rives. After attending Woodrow Wilson Junior High and Jefferson High School in Roanoke, Stafford then graduated from the University of Virginia (UVA) in 1958 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He also served in the Army for two years, including a post at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He then completed his master’s degree in civil engineering at UVA in 1962 and taught and conducted research there until 1964.
Next, Stafford took a teaching position at West Virginia Institute of Technology in Montgomery, West Virginia (now WVU Tech). Starting as a professor, he became Chair of the Civil Engineering Department, was promoted to Associate Dean for the College of Engineering, was Acting Dean, and then became the director of the Technical Assistance Center until his retirement in 2001. In 2008, the West Virginia Outstanding Civil Engineering Senior Awards were permanently renamed the Stafford E. Thornton Awards in his honor. In 2013, the Nester Thornton Civil Engineering Faculty Endowment was created to support WVU Tech’s civil engineering department and to recognize two distinguished professors, Dr. Ernie Nester and Stafford Thornton, for the legacy of dedication and innovation each man left after a lifetime of service to WVU Tech.
At the same time he was progressing at WVU Tech, he also became active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He started off as a faculty advisor for the student chapter at West Virginia Tech, then director, vice president, and ultimately became its 126th president in October 1994 which was one of his proudest achievements. As President-Elect and then President, Stafford made 267 plane flights and 30 car trips to travel to 33 states and 12 other countries representing ASCE. He remained active in ASCE until after he retired in 2001. Of his many awards, Stafford was proudest of being named a “Distinguished West Virginian” by the Governor in 1995 for “outstanding achievements and meritorious service" to the state.
After family, teaching, and ASCE, Stafford’s passion was golf. He had great groups of friends throughout his life that played golf, many of which were members of Hawks Nest Country Club near Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. He would often combine a family or ASCE trip with playing golf somewhere new. As an example, while he was President of ASCE, he traveled to several countries in Africa and had the opportunity to play golf in Kenya.
After retirement, he and his wife Jo chose to move to the Pinehurst area of North Carolina because of its access to many outstanding and renowned golf courses. There they became members of the Country Club of Whispering Pines, where he served as president of the Men’s Golf Association and was known for his golfing skill. Stafford enjoyed golf there and on other courses in the area for many years.
Stafford was preceded in death by his first wife Frances Umberger Thornton and his second wife Josephine Whittle Thornton; and is survived by his wife Martha Vance Thornton, his three children Suzanne Thornton Garrett (Bob), William Stafford Thornton (Amy), Rives Whittle Thornton (Nina), his step-daughter Susan Warner Bertrand (Sam) and step-son William Vance Bertrand, sisters Linda Swift Clifton and Adell Swift Fuqua, three grandchildren Carolyn Elizabeth Vesely (Tristan), Benjamin William Thornton (Kristen) and Josephine Dale McGuire (Christian), two great-grandchildren Marley Drew McGuire and Nolan Garrett Vesely, and numerous other relatives and friends.
A graveside service will be held on Saturday, February 24, at 11:00am at Evergreen Burial Park at 1307 Summit Ave. SW, Roanoke, Virginia. Oakey’s Funeral Home is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Nester Thornton Civil Engineering Faculty Endowment at West Virginia University Institute of Technology or to the American Red Cross.