Mary Thomas HawthorneRinggold, GA

Mary Thomas Hawthorne, 89, passed away on November 20th, 2023 at her home in Ringgold, GA. She was born in Morganton, Georgia, in 1934 to parents, Viola & Joe B. Thomas. Mary grew up in Collegedale, Tennessee where she attended and graduated from Collegedale Academy and then went on to receive her Associate Degree from Southern Missionary College.  While in college she met Bill Hawthorne, becoming a devoted wife and homemaker to her loving husband of 68 years.  She was an avid nature lover and taught her children to be the same, frequenting the Everglades and the Great Smoky Mountains as a family. She served in the local Seventh Day Adventist Church congregations of Chattanooga First, Ooltewah, and Ringgold, along with Misty Meadows Church school, throughout the years as Treasurer, School Board Chairman, Head Greeter and Sabbath School Secretary. She also taught in the children’s Sabbath School departments for many years.  Mary was a loving mother and a treasured grandmother.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Joe B. & Viola (Lynn) Thomas (GA), her brother, J.B. Thomas (FL & IN), and her husband, Bill Hawthorne.   She is survived by her sister Ruth Ann Guenterberg (CA), 4 children: Jo-Lynn Hawthorne (Duane Gibson) of Greeneville,Tennessee, Jan Chesney of Orlando, Florida, Jerry Hawthorne (Sheila) Ringgold, GA, and Julie Thomas of Ringgold, GA. And 8 grandchildren, Duane Jr., Darren, Derek, & Dana Gibson, Elizabeth & Grace-Anne Hawthorne, and Dylan & Matthew Thomas.

Services for both Bill and Mary Hawthorne celebrating their lives will be held at Heritage Funeral Home in Fort Oglethorpe, GA at 3:00 pm Saturday, November 25th. The Family will receive visitors on Friday, November 24th from 5:00-8:00 pm at Heritage Funeral Home & Crematory, Battlefield Parkway.