Dorothy G. Vance

On Friday, June 6, 2025, in the early morning hours Heaven gained a saint and one family lost the cornerstone of their foundation. Born February 5, 1934, Dorothy Grace Whitehead Thomas Vance, daughter of the late Joseph Madison Whitehead and Kate Leola Osborne Whitehead, graced the world with her presence. She was a shining light in her family and community. In her family, there are no “halfs” or “steps;” you don’t have to always like each other, but you will always love one another. Even at the age of 91, she was an avid reader and was constantly with a book and her Bible. She taught her family by example what it meant to be a Christian and to love everyone as Jesus loves us. She also enjoyed gardening and loved her flowers. She was not the best swimmer, but as her grandchildren can attest to, she could coach from the side of the pool. If you arrived at her house hungry and left the same way, it was your own fault. She filled her family’s bellies as well as their hearts. When her family was all under one roof, she was at her happiest. She was a founding member of the Covenant Presbyterian Church at Claypool Hill, Virginia. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husbands, Troy “Joe” Thomas and Erschell Vance; brothers, Leo, Dale, and Ralph; sisters, Lily Kate, Ethel, Ima Jean, Faye, and Frances; sons: Scott Vance, Alex Thomas, John Thomas, Steve Vance, and Troy “Pal” Thomas, Jr.; two grandsons, Jermey Wayne Pinkerton and Cody Patrick Thomas; and one great grandson, Remington Bradley Lofton. Those left to cherish her memory are: Daughters: Charlene Pinkerton and husband, Jerry of Cedar Bluff, Virginia Sandy Dye of Jewell Ridge, Virginia Son: Kenny Thomas and wife, Marsha of Jewell Ridge, Virginia Daughters in Law: Cindy Thomas of Lebanon, Virginia; Carolyn Vance of Lebanon, Virginia; and Donna Vance of Richlands, Virginia Sisters: Willa Dellamae Wilson of Saltville, Virginia and Esther Carol Clear and husband, Barney of Rich Valley, Virginia Brothers: Robert “Buddy” Whitehead and wife, Yvonne of Elizabethton, Tennessee and Gilbert “G.C.” Whitehead and wife, Retta of Saltville, Virginia Sixteen Grandchildren, Twenty-One Great Grandchildren as well as several nieces and nephews also survive. Special thanks to the Clinch Valley Medical Center Staff; the Oakwood Fire and Rescue Crew; and the doctors and nurses at Bristol Regional Medical Center ICU 2 for treating Dorothy like your own. Mommaw you will forever be missed and loved more than we could ever express and never forgotten. Funeral services for Dorothy Grace Whitehead Thomas Vance will be conducted Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 1pm at the Hurst-Scott Funeral Chapel in Richlands, Virginia with the Rev. Carl Howell officiating. Interment will follow at the Crabtree Cemetery in Tannersville, Virginia. Grandsons and Great Grandsons will serve as pallbeaerers. Friends may visit with the family from 12pm until 1pm on Tuesday prior to the funeral at the Hurst-Scott Funeral Home in Richlands, Virginia. Memorial contributions may be made to: Covenant Presbyterian Church, PO BOX 143, Cedar Bluff, Virginia 24609. Hurst-Scott Funeral Home in Richlands, Virginia, oversees arrangements, and those wishing to express sympathy online may do so at www.hurstscottfuneralhomes.com

Dorothy G. Vance

February 5, 1934 - June 6, 2025