Barbara C Thornley

Barbara was born in Dedham, MA to Ellen (Cahill) Martin and Charles Martin, December 1936. She spent her early years cavorting in Quincy with her lifetime best friends Connie (Fish) Schnack & Marilyn (King) McCafferty. Barbara was an only child but, you would never know that because she was always surrounded by her many first cousins, including her besties, whom she loved and adored like siblings, especially Anita O’Donnell and all of the “Dugan Kids” (Maureen, Cathy, Monica, Paul, and Christine).

Barbara valued education, even enrolling herself in Cardinal Cushing High School and defying the nuns there by applying and being accepted to Boston College’s graduating class of 1958. She graduated from BC with a bachelor’s degree in education, though she would have preferred to be an architect, however, as a woman in the 1950’s she was not allowed in the program.

Barbara’s first teaching job took her to Darrien, Connecticut, where she met the love of her life Robert (Bob) G Thornley while living in a rented house on Hough’s Neck. The two were married in August of 1962 in Cochicuate, Massachusetts in Barbara’s hometown church, St. Zepherin. Barbara and Bob later bought a house in Westford, MA where they raised their three children Charles George, William Robert, and Grace-Ellen who always kept their lives interesting and often exhausting.

Barbara taught both her students and her children the typical reading, writing, and arithmetic but she also taught her own children basic construction like: how to mix cement correctly, how to use a hammer, and that if you watch This Old House enough you can probably tackle most household projects.

She was passionate about the environment and nature, spending years on the conservation commission in Westford. While on the committee she was an early champion of the rails to trails Lowell to Concord MA project and helped to bring awareness about endangered species in the area. She was an earnest recycler whenever, and however, she could, this included clothing and cars, especially if the end result benefitted the less fortunate or a good cause. Her passion for nature extended to both domestic and wild animals. She rescued countless abandoned cats who had been dropped off at area barns and either made them part of the family or found them a loving home. She taught her children about the wild creatures that inhabited the woods around the house and how important some of those “unwelcome” creatures were, even caring for some of them, like the skunk that kept the yellow jackets out of the yard which she fed cat food to at the kitchen door. The skunk repaid her loving kindness one night when it sprayed her and the kitchen door in gratitude.

Barbara was a good teacher to both the elementary students she taught for over 20 years and to her beloved children, however, there were some things she couldn’t teach. She couldn’t teach anyone, including herself, how to cook despite loving cooking shows. Instead she successfully taught her children that a stack of plates left on a hot stove will explode and that if you try hard enough you can make gravy boil when it is set above a sterno can on the dining room table. She demonstrated this same lack of cooking skills to her friends, luckily only with exploding biscuits and a complete lack of knowledge on how to prepare a meal.

She also could not teach her children, or herself, how to make any type of craft that involved elmer’s glue or tape but, she could teach anyone that duct tape or WD40 can solve most household problems. Lastly, she could not teach fashion at all, her family and friends actually wondered if she might be color blind due to her lackadaisical fashion sense.

After Barbara gave up teaching for money she worked in customer service, which gave her time to pursue her passion of construction. Barbara’s biggest construction project was moving the split level ranch home that she bought without asking or telling her husband. Since the house had to be moved or torn down, she had to figure out how to move it a mile or so to her property. She got it done with only one small fire, one scavenger hunt using the wallpapered exterior of the existing house as a clue, and finally one lonely roll of toilet paper rolling across the yard from the demolished old house on the day of moving into the new house. After this project she went on to consult on the moving of several other houses and her children hope those other families had as much fun and trauma! (Shimming along a ledge with a 20 foot drop just to get to the bathroom,definitely a highlight).

Barbara’s children did survive her cooking attempts and her many construction projects, they even found life partners that Barbara truly loved. Her family grew with the addition of Barbara’s favorite Son-in-law Shawn Callahan and her beloved Daughter-in-laws Stacey Rosander and Tracy Lee McInnis. It expanded with her favorite additions, her beloved grandchildren: Shannon & Finn Callahan; and Liam & Nathan Thornley; whom, thankfully, she never cooked for but, enjoyed every story about and from them.

Barbara would have loved to teach her grandchildren how to mix cement or the proper way to use plumbers tape but she was forced to move to Arizona before they were born to care for her mother-in-law Grace Thornley. No one was more surprised than Barbara to find out that she loved living in Sun City Arizona. She made friends, went out to dinner, and threw parties! It left her children wondering who this good time woman was, she never did these things in Westford.

In Sun City Barbara joined the New England Club and the Women’s Guild of St. Clements (the Guild). Barbara was proud of being a member of both groups and they became her friends and her Southwest family.

Being a devout Catholic, a woman who loved a deal, along with her devotion to recycling, she truly enjoyed the Rummage Sales and the Clementique resale store run by the Guild. The sales and store gave Barbara time and opportunity to indulge in one of her pasttimes, putting together “mystery” boxes of clothing, jewelry, and random items to send to her unsuspecting children and relatives back East. These mystery boxes often contained treasures and even some treasured wardrobe items! (If only her own wardrobe could have benefited).

Her dedication to the Guild was solidified during 2017 when she was both President and Woman of the Year, she was so proud and so were her family and friends.

Although the time of the Guild came to an end with its dissolution, the friendships and joy Barbara cherished lived on through the many friends she made there and loved so much, especially her Southwest best friend, Charmayne Rizzo.

Barbara is reunited on the other side by many relatives and friends, especially her husband Bob and her best friend Marilyn. She is also rejoined with her many beloved fur babies, especially her cat Apricot and dog Rusty. We know all of them must have been so excited to see her again but, we are all sad to see her go.

Barbara was more fearless and brave than most people knew because she was never one to brag and boast about her adventures. Those adventures are too numerous to include in this brief summary but we hope you will share the stories with one another.

She will always be remembered for her wicked sense of humor, her tremendous love of reading, her fierce sense of independence, her practicality, and her loving and caring nature.

If you find yourself missing her, as we know we will, tackle a construction project, plant a rosebush, or if you need something less nail breaking, quietly brew a cup of tea, maybe grab a cookie and a good book, and she will be right there beside you again.

Funeral services in Arizona will be held at her beloved church St. Clement of Rome Parish 15800 Del Webb Boulevard, Sun City. A vigil will be held starting at 9AM followed immediately by the funeral mass at 10AM. An East Coast mass will be held at a future date as well as a graveside service for both Barbara and Bob following their wishes. Details will be shared as soon as possible.