Cover photo for Greta Lee (Olree)  Thornton's Obituary
Greta Lee (Olree)  Thornton Profile Photo
1938 Greta 2021

Greta Lee (Olree) Thornton

December 24, 1938 — September 27, 2021

Oakland, Tennessee

Greta Lee Olree Thornton, age 82, resident of Oakland, Tennessee and wife of the late Claude Everett Thornton, departed this life Monday afternoon, September 27, 2021 at her residence in Oakland.

Greta was born December 24, 1938 in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of the late Charles Edward Olree and Cornelia Lambert Olree. She graduated from Southside High School in 1956 and continued her education at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She was married May 30, 1962 to Claude Everett Thornton who preceded her in death on February 21, 2018. She was employed at Memphis University School in the kitchen for many years before her retirement and was most recently a resident of Oakland. She loved God and her family and enjoyed cross stitching, reading, cooking, Nascar and her dog "Biscuit". Greta enjoyed dancing and will be remembered for being a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister and friend.

Mrs. Thornton is survived by two sons, Wesley Thornton (Gloria) of Mountain Home, AR and David Thornton (Angela) of Somerville, TN;  four grandchildren, Lathisha Dunham (Steve) of Grand Junction, CO. Paige Thornton of Mountain Home, AR, Anthony Thornton (Nicole) of Mountain Home AR, and Nicholas Thornton of Somerville, TN; six great-grandchildren, Kaleb Neigenfind, Andrew Dunham, Aleesha Dunham, Oliver Dunham, Colton Thornton, Evelyn Thornton; three great-great-grandchildren, Ava Evangeline Neigenfind, Sophia Alexis Neigenfind and Sylas Theodore Neigenfind; and one sister-in-law, Delores Olree of Tampa, FL.

In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her son, Mark Thornton who died in 2005; and her brother, Neel E. Olree who died in 2020.

And let’s not forget her best friend and caregiver for the past three years Lisa Wasmund. (Thank you so much)

Graveside Services for Mrs. Thornton were held at 12:30 P.M. Saturday, October 16, 2021 at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in the Hickory Withe Community. The officiating minister was Chance Steen.

Those honored to serve as pallbearers were Jeffrey Holland, James Irons, David Thornton, Nicholas Thornton, Matthew Holland and Joshua Dwyer.

The family requests that memorials be directed to K9 Saviors, 465 Belmont Road, Mason, TN 38049 in memory of Greta Thornton.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Greta Lee (Olree) Thornton, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Saturday, October 16, 2021

11:30am - 12:00 pm (Eastern time)

Peebles West Funeral Chapel at Oakland

10670 U.S. 64, Somerville, TN 38068

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Graveside Service

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Starts at 12:30 pm (Eastern time)

Mt. Pleasant Cemetery

Ivy Drive, TN 38028

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

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