Linda Thornton Stern

Mrs. Linda Gail Thornton Stern, age 82, of Smithfield, NC, passed away on September 25, 2023 at Arbor Terrace Assisted Living in Decatur, GA. A graveside service will be at 11 AM Saturday, September 30, 2023 at Four Oaks City Cemetery in Four Oaks, NC with Rev. Adam Charville from Four Oaks United Methodist Church officiating.

Mrs. Stern was born on February 11, 1941 in Johnston County, NC to the late Theodore and Merle Underwood Thornton and raised in Four Oaks. She was preceded in death by her two brothers, Thomas Lee Thornton, D.C., and William Mark Thornton.

She was a graduate of Four Oaks High School, class of 1959. She attended Meredith College in Raleigh, NC and graduated with an A.B. degree in Music in 1964. After a brief move to Bowling Green, VA where she started her teaching career, she settled back in NC and began teaching public school music and chorus in Johnston County in 1971. She enjoyed working at many schools over her 30+ year teaching career and retired in 2002. She also taught private piano and voice lessons for many years.

A couple of highlights of her teaching career included producing the first musical in Johnston County since integration which was South Pacific at South Johnston High School and coordinating an honors chorus for all high school choral ensembles with the Johnston County Choral Society and the North Carolina Symphony. She always said her favorite part of teaching was interacting with the kids and seeing them accomplish and learn. She loved to run into “her kids” (no matter how old they were) wherever she went around Johnston County and beyond. One of her favorite quotes was “You’ve got to dream it before you can do it”. She was a member of Centenary United Methodist Church in Smithfield, NC, where she sang in the choir and was a soloist on many occasions. She was also a devoted member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Survivors include her daughter, Suzanne Stern Barrett and husband, Steve of Atlanta, Georgia; granddaughter, Sayre Michelle Barrett; many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to give special thanks to her devoted “assistants,” Crystal, Christina, and Angela, for their compassion and excellent care.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggest memorials to Four Oaks United Methodist Church, 302 N. Church St., Four Oaks, NC 27524.

The family will receive friends following the Graveside Service on Saturday.

Arrangements by Rose & Graham Funeral Home in Four Oaks, NC.