Mattie Louise Lassiter

Mattie's Story

Mattie Louise Thornton was born on May 15, 1936, in Granville County, North Carolina, to Willie Beatrice and Willie Compton Thornton. She spent her early years at the family home on Orange Street in Oxford, surrounded by the love of her extended family. Mattie began her education in Oxford, attending Orange Elementary and Mary Potter School. After her parents divorced, she and her sister moved with their mother to Washington, DC. There, their mother remarried, and the family later made their home in Purcellville, Virginia. In 1948, just a year after George Washington Carver School opened, Mattie entered seventh grade there and later attended Douglass High School in Leesburg, Virginia. After marrying in 1953, she moved to Merrifield, Virginia, and completed her education in 1955 at Luther Jackson School in Falls Church. More than three decades and a divorce later, Mattie returned to Purcellville, where she reunited with and married her childhood sweetheart, Nelson. Together, they devoted themselves to serving and uplifting the community they held so dear.

Mattie was a devoted and longtime member of the Loudoun County NAACP and many other community organizations. She was deeply respected for her civic activism and faithfully attended town meetings, where she spoke up for civil and social rights. One of the accomplishments closest to her heart was helping restore her former elementary school, Carver. After more than five years of dedicated lobbying and fundraising, she was proud to take part in the groundbreaking and restoration of what is now the Carver Senior Community Center. She was also a cherished founding member of the nonprofit Carver Alumni Association.

Mattie worked for many years as a Quality Control Supervisor before retiring from Raytheon/Legacy E-Systems. In retirement, she found joy in gardening, traveling with her husband and family, golfing, and fishing. She especially treasured time with Keith, her only son from her first marriage. Above all, Mattie found her greatest joy in serving God through her church, Second Mount Olive Baptist Church in Hamilton, Virginia. Over the years, she faithfully served as the children's choir director, Sunday school teacher, and Vacation Bible School director. She was also blessed with many gifts, including a beautiful singing voice and the ability to play the piano by ear.

Mattie leaves to cherish her memory her brother, Walter Hogan (Jean) of Falls Church, VA; her cousins, Morris Watkins (Kathy) of Dublin, OH, Natline Thornton and Annie Wolfe of Philadelphia, PA, and Nicholas Hogan (Beyoung) of South Riding, VA; her nieces, Celeste Peterson and Denise Robinson of Centreville, VA; one great-grandchild; and numerous grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her mother, Willie Palmer; her father, Willie Thornton; her husband, Nelson Lassiter; her son, Keith Gibson; her sister, Bettie Robinson; and her beloved brother-in-law, Woodrow Robinson.