Clear, 65° F
Annette Sue Thorington went to her heavenly home on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026 at Powell Valley Care Center in Powell, Wyoming.
She was born on Oct. 6, 1950 as the first child of Theodore (Ted) and Marietta Grabau in Boone, Iowa.
Besides attending school, Annette with her siblings, Carla and Dennis, helped their parents with work on the family farm. As a young girl and teenager, Annette enjoyed reading, riding her horse, Comet, going on trail rides, and learning to play the piano. Annette also loved to sing in the high school choir, a passion she continued as a member of her church choir for many years.
She graduated from Boone High School in 1968 and attended Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, and graduated in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in education.
Annette met the love of her life at the Dayton, Iowa, rodeo and married Jay Robert Thorington in Boone, Iowa, on Aug. 22, 1971. They had their first son in 1974, followed by their second son in 1985.
She and Jay worked many different jobs throughout Iowa before moving to Montana in 1980, where she eventually began working in finance at different banking institutions in Missoula and later, in Kalispell. In 1986, Annette, Jay and their children moved to Powell, Wyoming, where she began her long-term career with the City of Powell as its deputy clerk treasurer and eventually as the treasurer and finance director for the municipality. After 30 years of faithful public service, Annette retired in Powell in 2017.
Annette is most fondly remembered for her unassuming and sweet and loving nature and good sense of humor. She deeply loved and cared for her husband, Jay, as well as her two sons, Zachary and Samuel Thorington.
Throughout her life, Annette had a passion for gardening and growing decorative plants, both indoor and outdoor, and there was almost never one that she could not nurture to thrive. She was always interested in learning about new species of plants from various locations around the globe and was quite content to wander the spaces of a botanical garden during her travels to Hawaii, Virginia, Iowa and Arizona. Additionally, Annette loved collecting frog decorations of various kinds, such as pictures, statues and mementos.
Though she would never credit herself, Annette was a talented home cook, especially when making desserts. She made even the most complicated recipes seem easy. Annette made a delicious New York cheesecake, and, while living in Montana, she enjoyed picking wild huckleberries to put on the top! Her knack for dessert-making served her well with her other long-term interest, which was hosting and planning tea parties and collecting accoutrements to make for the perfect event.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Ted and Marietta, her father and mother in-law, Cecil and Dorothy Thorington, and her husband, Jay. She is survived by her two sons, Zachary (Dana) Thorington and Samuel (Rebecca) Thorington, sister, Carla (Lonnie) Nunnenkamp, brother, Ted Dennis (Donita) Grabau, grandchildren Hartly (Luke) Washington, Addison Thorington, and Wyatt Thorington, and her great-grandson Archer Washington and sister-in-law Joy (Dave) Fjare and four nieces and two nephews.
A private memorial service will be held at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Powell, Wyoming, followed by committal and interment at Crown Hill Cemetery in Powell. Condolences to the family may be sent to 1794 Dutcher Springs Trail, Powell, WY 82435.
