Obituary of Dorothy M. Thornhill

Dorothy Margaret Thornhill, 89, died on September 24, 2013, after a long illness. Daughter of John and Margaret Matheis, Dorothy was the wife of Arthur Thornhill, Jr., and lived in Charlottesville, Virginia, Edgartown, Massachusetts, and Vero Beach, Florida. She graduated from the Dwight School for Girls in 1942, and attended Vassar College, class of 1945, leaving to marry Arthur during World War II. At that time she took a position as assistant teller at the New York Trust Co. After the war, she worked in the Princeton University Mathematics Department and at the Princeton College Board Company while her husband finished his education at Princeton. Over the years she was active as a member, and then President, of the Boston Vassar Club. She also was a docent at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, class of 1984. As her husband was the head of a book publishing company for many years, she entertained many of its authors, including Norman Mailer, Herman Wouk, Ansel Adams, Lillian Hellman, John Fowles, and Henry Kissinger. She was a member of the Chilton Club, the Edgartown Yacht Club, the John's Island Club, and the Farmington Country Club. She is survived by her husband; a daughter, Sandra Brushart and her husband Dr. Thomas Brushart; a son, Arthur Thornhill III and his wife Lucy Lower; as well as grandchildren, Suzanne and Elizabeth Brushart and Henry and Hugh Thornhill. A memorial graveside service will be held at the Mayflower Cemetery, 774 Tremont Street, Duxbury, on Saturday, October 26, 2013, at 11:00 AM.