Thornell Kenly Page, Ph.D.

Thornell Kenly Page, Ph.D. of Washington, D.C. passed away after a sudden illness in his home on March 22, 2026. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Essie Mae Bernice Garner Page who died in December 2020. He is survived by his children Brenda Idell Page-Murphy, Esq. and Thornell Kenly Page, II, two grandchildren Matthew E.A. Murphy and Jourdan B. Page, Goddaughter Jeanna C. Penn, sister-in-law Mildred Page, a host of cherished nephews and nieces and extended family members.

Thornell, born in Dillon, South Carolina, was the son of the late Henry Page, Sr. and the late Willie Beatrice Johnson Page. He graduated from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He later earned his master’s degree from Federal City College, Washington, D.C. (now the University of the District of Columbia) and his doctorate from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (now Virginia Tech).

Many of his endeavors in life exhibited his strong advocacy on behalf of young Black students pursuing higher education, low-income children and senior citizens of the District of Columbia. Some of his major accomplishments include being the first Director of the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of the District of Columbia. He also served as Deputy Director of the Office of Community Services of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Clinton administration. He was also the president and CEO of Page Research Associates, a community economic development company he started in D.C. He served on the boards of the United Planning Organization and United National Bank. In addition, he was the president and CEO of the Washington Teachers Union Scholarship Fund Trust. He also served in several capacities at his church Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. For years, he worked passionately to save the historic Mt. Zion Cemetery in Georgetown D.C. from commercial development.

While Thornell was a man of mission with much accomplishment, his family simply knew and loved him as a committed and resilient family man: son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend.

A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at Gawler’s Sons, LLC Funeral Home at 5130 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016 with a reception following. The family will attend a private interment at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.