Marion Pratt Nolan

Marion Pratt Nolan, age 89, of Montgomery, AL passed away on January 7th, 2020. The daughter of the late Colonel James G. Pratt and Rosalie Kulmus Pratt. Marion is preceded by her sister Elizabeth Schoenecker. She is also preceded by her husband Dr. Thomas Campbell Nolan (Buddy) of Troy, Alabama. She is survived by her three children: Reuben Earl Thornton III and daughter-in-law Jackie Taylor Thornton of Lake Martin, AL; James Pratt Thornton of Montgomery, AL; Christine Thornton Taylor and son-in-law Sean Cullen Taylor of Atlanta, GA. Marion has five adoring grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Marion lived in Montgomery all of her adult life and was active at First United Methodist Church. She was a public servant through her work with the Alabama State Senate. She enjoyed sewing for her grandchildren and playing bridge with friends. Family and friends will miss her humor and positive personality.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions the family will celebrate her life privately.

Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church, 2416 West Cloverdale Park, Montgomery, AL 36106, or a charity of your choice.

The following was written by Marion’s eldest grandson Kirby Pratt Thornton, age 32.

Positivity. This woman embodies what it is to stay positive. She was always brimming with excitement and warm, just like coffee she always had in her hands. She loved living, and sharing special moments. She had ups and downs but always found the reason to smile. Every situation had its own joyous noise or tone of voice so you always knew exactly how she felt. Her residence has been a refuge for the family for so long. If you had a hard day, a tough circumstance, or a difficult decision then there was no better place to come than Marion’s house.

One of the long running jokes in our family is how bad her cooking is. I called her cookies diamond cakes because they were so hard, and she always managed to pop the yolk in fried eggs (she called them ship wrecked eggs as if she meant to do it.) The only thing she COULD cook was poppy seed chicken, so we ate it ALOT! Regardless, she was always ready with an orange slice, some popcorn, or a bowl of Moose Tracks ice cream.

And so, we would come. When life got us down, we would come. When we had wonderful news, we come. When we just needed an ear, we would come.

There was never a better a listener, someone to comfort and rejoice with, and to relive life’s special moments.

And relive moments she would, she loved to tell our family’s favorite story’s again and again. If she was telling a story we had heard we would place two fingers on our cheek to signal we had heard this one. My father was fond of putting up three, then four, then coving his face with his hands if it was one she told a lot and we would all laugh.

She absolutely loved America and the American military. She was a patriot to her core and believed in the United States founding values. She believed the history of America is a success story about continuing to improve on the Declaration of Independence and Constitutions promises for those founding ideals. She was very diligent in the defense of our freedoms because she saw how much they cost first hand. Her father joined the Air Force when it first started, transitioning from the Army Cavalry. He was in the Air Force for the duration of WWII. As a young teenager at home during the war she bought War Bonds whenever she had the money, and she tended a victory garden to support the fight against the Nazis. The American way of life was so precious to her, because she knew it wasn’t a sure thing, and she always did all she could to preserve it for future generations.

Love unconditionally, cherish every moment, believe in America, and always keep a positive attitude. These lessons I’ve learned from her, and I know my family has too.

We miss you Marion, and I can’t wait to join you in praising our Father in heaven.