William (Bill) Chase Thornbury, age 85, passed away peacefully on October 28, 2020 in Lexington, Kentucky. Bill was born on December 22, 1934, and was a native of the central Appalachian town of Big Rock, Virginia located in Buchanan County. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served during the Vietnam War. Following the war, he returned to Lexington earning a bachelor of science degree at the University of Kentucky from the Gatton College of Business and Economics. At UofK, he became a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, met, and then married his college sweetheart, Patricia Hutchinson Thornbury. Together, they resided in Grundy, Virginia where he worked over thirty years as President, and then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a self-owned chain of community pharmacies before retiring in Lexington. Bill was an entrepreneur, a golfer, and a community health advocate supporting, recruiting, and training pharmacists to serve local communities; however, when asked about his greatest accomplishments, his sole reply was his family. He was predeceased by his wife, Patricia (Patti) Hutchinson Thornbury, and sister, Francis Thornbury White. He and Patti leave behind their children William Chase Thornbury Jr, MD, BSPharm, wife Amy Patton Thornbury, ARNP, and children Britton Grace and William Chase Thornbury III; Steven C. Thornbury, BS Pharm, MBA; Teresa Thornbury Kern, PhD, MsEd, TTS, and her husband Commander David Michael Kern, and children Lindsey Ann Ratliff, PharmD, BS, D.Michael Kern, Jr; David Christopher Thornbury, and his wife Rebecca Justice Thorbury, JD, BSPharm, and children Abigail Carmen Thornbury, Katherine Chase Thornbury, John Carl Thornbury; Joel Craig Thornbury, BSPharm, wife Sandra P. Thornbury, PharmD, and children Phoebe Cayia Thornbury and Jade Coyer Thornbury; Neil Coyer Thornbury, MHA, ScD(c), OT/L, and wife Alanna M. Thornbury, OT/L and sons Reece Coyer Thornbury and Walker Chase Thornbury; as well as Ruby Ellen Coffey, MsEd, her husband James Coffey, MBA and children Kathleen Coffey Thompson, JD; Molly Ruth Coffey, OT/L; and his loyal cat Lucy that stayed ardently by his side. Bill is also survived by his sister Dorothy Thornbury Dowden, many cousins, nieces, nephews, and a wealth of treasured friends collected over decades. A Requiem Mass and Full Military Funeral Honors service will be held on Friday, December 18, 2020. Mass begins10:30 am in the historic St. Paul’s Catholic Church located downtown Lexington where Bill and Patti were married June 18, 1960; Reverend Richard Watson VF Pastor, a dear friend, will preside. Immediately after, a motorcade will escort to Camp Nelson National Cemetery for a 12:30 Military Honors service. True to Bill’s nature, the ceremony will be an intimate peaceful gathering to honor life and patriotism. Although Mass will be held in a well-ventilated space accommodating social distancing and the Honors service will be held outside, the current climate of Covid-19 will limit gathering. The family asks that you please only send a simple prayer that day as they celebrate and honor Bill’s full and cherished life. In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed in his memory to Hospice Home in Glasgow, Kentucky.
