SANBORN, Therna Myers, 88, died on June 2, 2011, at the Essex House in Tappahannock, Virginia. She was born in Sumner, Maine, on January 16, 1923, the daughter of Patrick J. and Inza Russell Myers, who preceded her in death. She graduated from the University of Maine. She taught at Kennett High School in Conway, New Hampshire and in Poughkeepsie, New York, before joining the faculty of St. Margaret's School in Tappahannock in 1960, where she taught history until her retirement in 1989. In 1985, she was presented with the "Excellence in Teaching" award from The Virginia Association of Independent Schools. Mrs. Sanborn was a born teacher who taught by example, as well as by book, and her passion for her own continued learning showed her students she was a mentor to be emulated. She loved her home state of Maine, and spent many summers there. She loved to travel, particularly to historic places, and sponsored numerous trips abroad with her students. She was a great admirer of our democratic process and instilled that feeling in her students. Upon retirement in Tappahannock, she resided with her good friends, Pat and Cy Yates, who preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by her goddaughter, Julia Phillips White. Mrs. Sanborn is survived by her sister, Zoe Myers Woodworth; and nephew; Dennis Bumpass of South Paris, Maine; her cousin, Brenda Kennard and husband, Raymond, of South Paris; her close friend, Emelie Legare Phillips of Chesapeake, Virginia; goddaughter, Sara Phillips Eser of Portsmouth, Virginia; her devoted caretakers, Katherine and Ruth Hayes of Caret, Virginia; and her goddaughter and guardian, Cyanne Yates, of Tappahannock. She was cherished and respected by her students who once described her with a quote she herself loved as an observation of England's tenacity in World War II: "She had courage; she had pluck; she had staying power." Therna Sanborn will be missed. Services will be held at the chapel of St. Margaret's School on June 11. Her ashes will be interred in Maine at a later date. Memorial donations may be made in her name to St. Margaret's School, P. O. Box 158, Tappahannock, Virginia 22560.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
