Each year, the MMI Alumni Brigade honors MMI teachers and staff who have made a difference in our lives. During Alumni Weekend 2007, Molly Thornton and Susan Wilbourne were honored at the Alumni Brigade Banquet on Saturday, April 14, 2007, at 6:30 p.m., at the Selma Country Club.
Molly Thornton began teaching at MMI in 1987 and has taught high school English classes at all levels as well as college classes in freshman composition, American literature, and ACT/SAT preparation. She was the first woman to hold the honorary rank of Colonel at MMI and in 1995 was awarded the MMI Trustees Award for Teaching Excellence. Mrs. Thornton has sponsored classes, clubs, and organizations including Phi Theta Kappa and the National Honor Society and has served on numerous committees and councils. She has chaired the Faculty Senate and the SACS committee for high school accreditation. She was also the faculty representative on the 1999 and 2004 Board of Trustees’ Presidential Search Committees.
Mrs. Thornton is married to The Reverend Dr. Dan Thornton. “My relationship with the cadets precedes teaching at MMI. Dan coached high school sports years ago, and we often had those cadets in our home. My role became different when I began teaching at MMI and my own children and their friends were in my first classes.” Both of her children, Mary Goodloe, class of 1989, and Ingram, class of 1991, are graduates of MMI. “I continue to find students exciting and challenging. My work with the Service Academy Prep cadets is especially rewarding, as I help these fine young men and women prepare for the military academies.” Mrs. Thornton continues to chair the MMI English Department and to sponsor Phi Theta Kappa. Away from campus, Mrs. Thornton enjoys spending time with her five grandchildren. “They are all adorable, bright, and very different from each other, future challenges for someone else.”
Susan Wilbourne began teaching at MMI in 1967 and then taught intermittently in summer school when COL McDonald and COL Murfee needed a stand-in. She returned full time in 1976 and continued teaching high school algebra until she left Marion in 1993. While at MMI, Mrs. Wilbourne initiated a series of math camps during the summers, served on the Faculty Senate and various SACS committees, and was awarded Teacher of the Year in 1984. She states that her most memorable years were when her children, Sarah, class of 1984, Tom, class of 1986, and Wil, class of 1993, were students at MMI because many of their friends were her students and frequent visitors at her house.
After retiring from MMI, Mrs. Wilbourne taught at Bayside Academy in Foley, Alabama for six years and is now working part-time at the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce in Foley. She enjoys the change of pace but still misses teaching in general and MMI specifically. “I have the warmest place in my memories for the cadets whom I was privileged to know. Lunches with Molly Thornton, Shirley Harrison Adams, and Winnie Cobbs were real memory makers as well…I still smile when I think of those times!”
Susan Wilbourne is married to Perry Wilbourne, MMI class of 1960. They now reside in Foley, Alabama.
