A Celebration of Life

Flower Bearers
Sherdina Baker Lori Mason
Karen Millender-Belcher Kim Rogers
Katrina Scott De’Ana Dejoie

Final Arrangements
Family Funeral and Cremation
7253 Plantation Road, Pensacola, FL 32504
(850) 466-5440
www.family-funeral.com

Acknowledgements
We, the family of the late Bertha Baker Thornton extend our heartfelt thanks for
the countless messages, prayers, visits and numerous other expressions of
kindness, compassion, sympathy and love given our family during this period of
illness and now our time of bereavement. Your words were heard, your prayers Sunrise Sunset
felt, and your deeds graciously noted. We bless and thank God for the time with
our beloved mother, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother, Godmother and
February 21, 1946 September 19, 2018
friend and we thank each of you for all you’ve done to share God’s love with our
beloved Bertha and all of us! Your kindness has given us comfort during this
difficult time and our grief is lightened by your support and the knowledge that
God will bless us to see her again in Glory!
Memorial Service
We give special thanks to the Washington High School Class of 1964 for the Thursday, September 27, 2018
lifelong support and friendship you gave. We are humbled by the faithful love,
prayer and care from our Pastor, F. Douglas Young, III, Sister Ida Johnson and the 11:00 am – Home Going Service
Hospitality Staff and the entire congregation of Mt. Canaan Missionary Baptist Mt. Canaan Missionary Baptist Church
Church, Pensacola, FL. We are also grateful for the care and support from the
500 E Moreno Street, Pensacola, FL 32503
aides, nurses and staff of Emerald Coast Hospice for helping mom transition
with grace, love and ease. A final special thank you to cousins Lori Mason and Rev. Fred Douglas Young, III, Senior Pastor, Officiating
Katrina Scott for their love, support and diligence in creating this beautiful
program for our mom and for blessing the family with it!


I awake each morning to start a new day,
But the pain of your passing never goes away.
I go about the things I have to do,
And as the hours pass, I think of you.
I so want the chance just to hear your voice,
Then I remember I have no choice.
For you are not there and my heart does cry,
Just to see you again and tell you goodbye!
To say Mom I love you and I always will,
As I hope that much of you, in me, you’ve instilled!
The day that you left I just didn’t know,
That you were going somewhere I now cannot go.
And now all my memories of you are so dear,
Lord knows how I miss you and wish you were here.
Who now can hear me when I need to cry?
Mom, it’s so hard to tell you goodbye!
Someday I know all will be well,
And I’ll see you again with new stories to tell,
Of how you were missed and how much we’ve grown,
And how good it is to finally be home!
Until then, my memories of you I’ll keep near,
And share them with all those who also are dear!

Dedicated to the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren

of Bertha Baker Thornton with the prayer that you each find comfort
in the assurance of her deep and abiding love for each of you…
now and always!

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free.
I followed the plan God laid for me.
I saw His face and I heard His call.
I took His hand and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To love, to laugh, to work or play;
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
And if my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy!
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss…
Ah yes, alas, I too, shall miss.
My life’s been full... I’ve savored much:
Good times, good friends, a loved one’s touch.
Perhaps my life seemed all too brief –
Don’t shorten yours with undue grief.
Be not burdened with tears of sorrow,
We that believe on Him will meet again one tomorrow.
– Author Unknown
This poem is dedicated to my family and friends. It is given as a
final keepsake from me in the hope that the words written here
bring peace, encouragement and comfort through the assurance of
God through salvation in Christ Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer.
Though absent from body, I am now present with the Lord and I
will see you again in Glory. – Bertha Baker-Thornton
Bertha Baker Thornton was the thirteenth child and fifth daughter of the
late Ralph W. and Gladys Louise (Williams) Baker. Born February 21,
1946, she was the last child of this union and the final living offspring as
well. Raised in Pensacola, Florida with her 12 siblings, Bertha gave her life
to Christ as a young child and united with Friendship Primitive Baptist
Church in Pensacola.
“Bert”, as many who knew her best called her, graduated from Booker T.
Washington High School in 1964. She married John Thornton, Jr., in
1967 and moved to Fayetteville, NC. She bore 3 children: her eldest
Tangia, her son Keith and the youngest child, Shanetta. Her marriage
ended in 1987 and Bertha briefly returned to Pensacola, before settling in
New Orleans, LA with her children. She remained unmarried but ever
committed to sharing her love with those she cared for most.
Always a champion of family, Bertha regularly opened her home to host
family and friends. Her kindness and hospitality set the framework now
used by the family as they rekindle the focus of honoring and celebrating
the Baker Family legacy of sacrifice and love.
Bertha spent decades working in the restaurant industry in both Pensacola
and New Orleans. Ever the gentile spirit, Bertha shared her home and
heart freely, so it was no surprise to anyone when she opened her home
in the late 1990’s to her ailing Mother. As Mother’s health continued to
deteriorate, Bertha would welcome her sisters Catherine and Bette with
frequent visits from Portia to help with their mother’s care.
Little did anyone know then, this would be the beginning of the “Golden
Girls” – a period where the sisters would leverage their love and collective
strength in support of each other, their mother, their friends and families.
Bertha and her sisters did this until their mother’s passing on August 23,
2005. Bertha, her sisters and their families would ultimately evacuate New
Orleans and return to Pensacola days later as Hurricane Katrina barreled
down on the area brining widespread devastation and flooding. And
Pensacola is where they would remain safe, sound and together enjoying
each other, their home, families and lives for more than a decade.
But the events of October 15, 2013, would shake these sisters and this
family to the core of their souls. This was the day youngest child, Bertha
Baker Thornton, suffered a massive heart attack and stroke following a
routine medical procedure.
Prelude .......................................................................................
Processional ................................. Clergy and Entire Baker Family
Hymn of Comfort (Musical Selection) ..... Mt. Canaan Missionary
Baptist Choir
Scriptural Readings
Old Testament Verse:................................... Minister Gail Scott
Associate Minister, Mt. Canaan Missionary Baptist Church
New Testament Verse: ................................ Chaplain Mark Smith
Emerald Coast Hospice
Word of Comfort ................................. Elder Zebedee Nicholson
Friendship Primitive Baptist Church, Retired Pastor
Musical Solo “I am Redeemed” ........................... Juanita Hartley
Funeral Program (Read Silently) .................................. Attendees
Musical Selections ............... Mt. Canaan Missionary Baptist Choir
Reflections .................................................... Friends and Family
(Please limit to maximum of 3 minutes each)
Acknowledgements and Resolutions ................. Jean Marie Jones
Reading of Love .............. Christopher Hendricks, Great-Nephew
Musical Solo “I Won’t Complain” ........ Deacon James Stallworth
Eulogy ............................................ Rev. Fred Douglas Young, III
................................... Senior Pastor, Mt. Canaan Baptist Church
Final Committal Rights ................................................................
Like many times in the past, these sisters, and their families, stood in
faith… this time standing in the gap for their beloved baby sister,
believing and hoping against all odds that God would bring her back
to them.
And bring her back He did! God poured out His blessings, mercy and grace
so powerfully that despite a bleak prognosis, Bertha flourished from this
period until the day the Lord called her home. Always a loving and humble
soul, she consistently surpassed all expectations of doctors and family alike.
Even in her final days, her sweet spirit was evident until the moment she
took her last breath.
A beloved daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother,
Godmother, friend, devoted church member and aunt, Bertha Baker
Thornton departed this life on Wednesday, September 19, 2018, following a
lengthy illness. She was proceeded in death by her parents, Gladys L. and
Ralph W. Baker and all 12 of her siblings, brothers Ralph, Willie (Toshiko),
Kermit (Ann), Ronald, Elmer (Lillie Mae), sister Carrie McCorvey (John),
Donald, Roger, sisters Portia Millender, Catherine Milton, Bette Brady
(Chester) and finally Anthony Baker (Beverly). She leaves to cherish her
memory her children, Tangia Manassa (David), Keith Thornton (Adriana)
and Shanetta Thornton; who, along with her siblings, selflessly sacrificed so
much to sustain and comfort their mother in her grief at the loss of her
sisters and brothers and her illness. Also mourning her passing are her
grandchildren: Christina Porter (Peter), Brianna Wilson (Monte), Brandon
Earl and Joshua Graves, Daniel Hall, Alexander and Arnold Thornton and
Kristofer Thornton. Bertha leaves the depth of her love to her great-
grandsons Dailyn Hall, Jaylin Thornton, Anthony Porter and Enzo Jaimeson
Wilson (EJ) whom she waited to meet. Also mourning her passing are
devoted life long friends Grace Ross, Paul and Delores Ross and Beverly
Stallworth Crosby; close cousins, Ramona “Coco” Bright and Theresa Jones
and a host of nieces and nephews, cousins, family and friends far too
numerous to name.
Bertha Thornton’s life was an example of grace and humility. She was
humble beyond words; loving to her core and kind to everyone she knew.
Our family is honored to have had the opportunity to love her as she loved
us and we hope to continue the legacy of love she shared with each of us as
we move forward in her absence. May God knit our hearts together in love
as we continue the work begun by our beloved Bertha Baker Thornton.