Nancy Freebairn Thornton, daughter of John Arthur Black, Sr. and Pauline “Polly” Cearley Black, died July 6, 2020 following a lengthy illness.
Nancy was born in Mexico, Missouri Feb. 9, 1949, the twin sister of John A. Black, Jr. The family later moved to Phoenix, Arizona where Nancy attended school and was active in Girl Scouts (earning the Gold award) and the early Civil Rights movement. She graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in urban planning. She later earned a Master’s in Management from the University of Oklahoma and a Doctorate in Psychology from the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology.
Nancy joined the Army in February 1971. During her distinguished military career, she had many firsts. She was the first woman in the Army Corps of Engineers, first to attend the Army Engineer Officer Advanced Class, the first to command an Engineer company, and the first female Tactical Officer at the United States Military Academy. While at West Point, she enjoyed the challenge of getting all 4,000 West Point cadets both to and from Philadelphia for the annual Army-Navy football game. Nancy also was selected to work with the hostages returning from Iran in 1980 and was a national finalist for the White House Fellowship Program. She held both company and staff leadership positions, to include company command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; an officer recruiter for the Army Recruiting Command; a staff engineer with the Omaha Engineer District in Omaha, Nebraska; and a staff member at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, for management change actions. She also served in the Office of the Chief of Engineers. Nancy also was featured on the Paul Harvey show, Esquire magazine, and US magazine.
After retirement from the Army, Dr. Thornton was in private practice as a psychotherapist in both Jasper and Cullman, Alabama, and served as adjunct faculty at Bevins Community College and Wallace Community College. She remained active in Girl Scouting, served in the Cullman Women’s League, and served on numerous civic boards including the Department of Human Resources in Cullman. She was a foster parent to 36 children.
In both military and civilian life, Nancy was well-traveled. She visited over 30 countries around the world, including China (twice), Russia, and Saudi Aribia. She was always fond of Estonia. She visited 49 of the 50 states and came within feet of Montana, which she looked forward to visiting.
Nancy is survived by her husband of 14 years, LTC (ret) Michael Burchett; brother John Arthur Black, Jr. in Sedona, Arizona; brother Bruce Leonard Black in Portland, Oregon; sister Jane Akin Gilbert in Flagstaff, Arizona; children Doug (Anita) Burchett, Bloomburg, Texas; Ann (Mark) Wilkinson, Jonesboro, Georgia; Bethea (Frank) Burchett, Linden, Texas; Michelle (Omar) Valentin, Bivins, Texas; Jeb (Mary) Burchett, West Chester, Pennsylvania; and twins Will and Wren Thornton, Cullman, Alabama; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, July 11, 2020 at First United Methodist Church with services to follow. Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
In lieu of flowers, Nancy requests contributions to Cullman Caring for Kids.
