Cover photo for Janie Ruth Luther  Thornburg's Obituary
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Janie

Janie Ruth Luther Thornburg

d. February 15, 2020

The love of our life, Janie Ruth Thornburg, passed away Saturday Feb 15, 2020 at the age of 80, at the home under the care of her children. She was born in Randolph County, NC on September 10, 1939 to Albert Franklin Luther and Cora Mussette Clodfelter Luther. Janie Ruth was a 1957 Graduate of Farmer High School and excelled in basketball under the legendary Coach Curtis McCombs. Janie loved her classmates and looked forward to attending their yearly reunions. During her childhood, she considered the churches Science Hill Friends Meeting and Eleazer Church as her places of worship. Eleazer being the ancestral church of her Luther and Grissom family heritage. In June 1959, she married Jason J. Thornburg and together they were instrumental in helping the Rev. Henry Thompson and family establish and build Smyrna Grove Community Church in 1961. She was always proud of the fact that Smyrna Grove organized and met for services in the basement of her parents' house on Dixie Drive in Asheboro. Jason, Janie and their family worshipped at Smyrna Grove until 1975, but it always held a special place in mom's heart over the years. Janie regularly attended Hopewell Friends Meeting Church since 2007 when her health permitted. Mom was a people person and her first job was in 1956 as a waitress when Kenyon Davidson hired her to work for Dixie Restaurant. In the 1960's Janie became a stay at home mom to raise her family and returned to public work in 1973 to work as a waitress for Darrell Davidson at Dixie Burger. Eventually, she worked for Terry's Restaurant, Quik-Chek and Hardees, before taking a manager job in 1981 at Short-Stop BP Convenience Store owned by Randolph Oil at the corner of East Dixie Drive and HWY 42. She retired in the year of 2002. Not content with retirement, Janie was hired by Lee Davidson in 2006 to work for him at Dixie Fuel. She was always proud to tell people that Kenyon Davidson hired her for her first job in 1956 and fifty years later his son, Lee Davidson hired her for her last career job. Mom grew up in the 1950's during the best years of the changing music scene and loved all the entertainers of Rock-N-Roll & Country Music that emerged over the years. Loretta Lynn and Billy Crash Craddock were her favorites. This love for music created a passion to dance. When the Asheboro Fall Festival was organized, mom and a group of ladies took to dancing in the street at the bluegrass bands staging area. Although mom's name and picture never appeared in the Courier Tribune during that time span staff writer Bob Williams in yearly articles attributed the success of the festival to "people dancing in the streets". Mom took great pride in this and was presented with a certificate in 1976 for her dancing. She danced yearly for the first 24 years of the festival and never missed attending a festival in its history. You could always find her sitting and socializing at the Ash-Rand Rescue Bus booth during the festivals. Mom was the score keeper for the Cedar Grove Blue Little League Team from its inception in the mid 1970's for the duration of her son Derrick's tenure on the team. Her and dad were avid Rook players and enjoyed weekend games with her brother-in-law and sister-in-law Reid and Meredith Thornburg for the decades of the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's thru mid-2014 years. Janie Ruth was proud of her Luther family connections to the owners of the Historic Joy-Lee Apartments at Carolina Beach, NC and like her childhood spent vacationing there; she, enjoyed spending her yearly summer vacations at the complex with her family. She was a strong supporter of the Law Enforcement Community and Fire Department Community especially Ulah Fire Department. Her Luther Ancestral lands in the Eleazer Community were used for maneuvers by the US Army for close to 60 years and in 2008 Janie was presented a Certificate from the US Army in recognition of this service. Her mother's side of the family (Clodfelter) instilled family values of tradition through the yearly Clodfelter Family Reunions in Montgomery County and during the 75-year history of its existence mom only missed 2 reunions. Janie was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her brother James Emmitt Luther and sister Frankie Luther, her mother and father-in-law Rupert and Fannie Thornburg, and sisters-in-law Robbie Thornburg and Joy Thornburg. Survivors include her daughter, Julia T. Hooker and husband Max Hooker of Level Cross, NC; sons, Daniel J. Thornburg of the home, Derrick Thornburg of Asheboro, NC and Abu Dhabi, UAE, Darren Thornburg of Fayetteville, NC; grandchildren, Dakota Abernethy and wife Korie Abernethy, Jason Thomas Abernethy all of Asheboro, NC and Samuel Hooker of Level Cross, NC, step grandson, Daniel and Stephanie Hooker of Climax, NC; great grandsons, Jackson Abernethy and Isaiah Abernethy of Asheboro, NC; step great grandchildren, Madison Hooker and Julia Hooker; Sister-in-law Ruth Luther of Asheboro, NC. Several nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends on Tuesday night February 18, 2020 from 6:00-8:00 pm at Pugh Funeral Home, 437 Sunset Ave., Asheboro, NC and other times at her home at 2116 Danny Bell Road, Asheboro, NC. Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday February 19, 2020 at 2:00 pm at Hopewell Friends Meeting, 2224 Hopewell Friends Road, Asheboro, NC with the Rev. Mark Wilburn officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Janie will lay in repose at the church 30 minutes prior to the service on Wednesday. Memorials may be made to Ulah Fire Dept., 2067 Pisgah Covered Bridge Road, Asheboro, NC 27205.
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Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation at Funeral Home

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

6:00 - 8:00 pm

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Funeral Service

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Starts at 2:00 pm

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Final Resting Place

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Starts at 3:00 pm

Hopewell Friends Meeting Cemetery

2244 Hopewell Friends Rd, Asheboro, NC 27205

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