Dale Thornton McWilliams

Dale Thornton McWilliams was born on March 4, 1946, in Brownsville, Tennessee, and passed away peacefully at Sugar Creek Senior Living Community in Brownsville on April 9, 2025, surrounded by her family and beloved caregivers.

Mrs. McWilliams was a proud graduate of the Haywood High School Class of 1964. She attended the Mississippi State College for Women (now Mississippi University for Women) in Columbus, Mississippi, and the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. She made her home in Indianola, Mississippi, for many years where she raised her family and was an active member of the First United Methodist Church.

In her golden years, she returned to Brownsville to live near her family there. Mrs. McWilliams was a lifelong member of the Tabernacle Camp Meeting community.

Mrs. McWilliams was preceded in death by her loving husband of 27 years, Tommy McWilliams, of Holly Ridge, Mississippi, and her parents, Harbert and Hayden Thornton, of Brownsville, Tennessee. She is survived by her son Matt McWilliams (Wendy) of Brandon, Mississippi, her daughter Hayden Hooper (Bob) of Brownsville, six grandchildren: Clayton Converse, Katie Converse Cheney (Garner), Sarah Margaret Hooper, James, Rebecca, and Bennett McWilliams, and one great grandson, William Garner Cheney IV. She leaves behind a sister, Ree Moses (Jack), of Brownsville and a brother, Taylor Thornton, of Nashville.

The family extends a special thank-you to the amazing friends and caregivers at Sugar Creek Senior Living Community of Brownsville and AseraCare Hospice. Friends and family are invited to a Celebration of Life Service on Friday, April 18, 2025, at Tabernacle Methodist Church located at 3000 Tabernacle Road in Brownsville with Dr. Sarah Moses officiating. Visitation will be at 1:00 p.m., followed by the service at 2:00 p.m. Burial will follow at Tabernacle Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 401 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or the “Tabernacle Kinfolks Camp Meeting” (memo: building fund) at 770 Ross Road, Brownsville, TN 38012, attention Suzanna Martinez. All arrangements and services are under the direction of the Lea & Simmons Funeral Home.