Wally Thornhill

By Megan Bevins

Growing up in the small Logan neighborhood of Justice Addition, Wally Thornhill had an honest upbringing. Most of his early years were spent outside playing sports with friends or getting involved with the community.

Thornhill’s first jobs included delivering magazines and helping in his father’s autobody repair shop, two roles he says taught him lessons he carried throughout his career and personal life. After graduating from Logan High School in 1975, he moved to Ohio to attend Mt. Vernon Nazarene College but soon had to return home.

“My time there was cut short due to my father’s business declining and my brother being in pharmacy school in Florida,” Thornhill says. “I returned home to help both, opening my own autobody repair shop called Superior Auto Body in Mt. Gay, WV, renting the space from my best friend’s father.”

In 1978, Thornhill was able to build his own space for his repair shop, working there while learning business and accounting skills during night classes at Southern West Virginia Community & Technical College. He then purchased a wrecker company, combining with the autobody shop to create Superior Auto Body & Wrecker Service, and soon after began building rental properties.

Thornhill says these ventures taught him the ins and outs of managing a small business.

“My love for automobiles and the foresight of the future led me to become a partner in my first Pontiac store in 1996,” he says. “I guess this is where I became a professional, trading in dirty work clothes and boots for suits and ties.”

Today, Thornhill is the owner of three pharmacies; six dealership rooftops—Thornhill GM Superstore, Thornhill Ford-Lincoln, Thornhill Mitsubishi, Thornhill Toyota, Thornhill Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-RAM and Thornhill Auto Outlet; and five real estate companies. In total, he manages 180 employees

“My key ingredient is to be visible,” he says. “I try to be at each location as much as possible. I want our customers
and employees to know we are all family, and I am here for them.”

Thornhill credits many people in his life with helping get him to where he is today, including his father, Morris “Mousie” Thornhill; his previous accounting teacher at Southern West Virginia Community & Technical College, Connie White; his best friend’s father and first landlord, Keefer Whitman; and his father-in-law, Vernon “Buddy” Ferrell.

He has also served as a mentor himself not only through teaching his employees about service, sales and running a business but also coaching his own children and their friends in their sports leagues.

“I have always tried to set the best examples and hope to provide for others so every child has the opportunity to participate in activities through life,” he says.

Thornhill has always believed in giving back to one’s community, and his record of service strongly reflects this mindset. He currently serves with Kiwanis of Logan, Shriners of Logan, Chief Cornstalk District Boy Scouts of America, Logan County Chamber of Commerce, Logan County Parks and Recreation Committee, Wheels Club West Virginia and the We Can program of Logan. He is also a trustee of Southern West Virginia Community & Technical College and supports many Logan County food pantries.

Throughout every stage of his career, Thornhill’s family has been by his side. His wife has worked alongside him in multiple business ventures, and together they have three children with their own successful careers.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my children and the families they continue to build,” he says. “We’re working on seven grandchildren now, and they are proof that what we’ve worked for, to build for the future, is what it’s all about. I’m so thankful for the family unit that God has blessed us with.”

A Mountain State native, Thornhill continues to live and work in West Virginia because, simply, it will always be home.

“We love Logan County and West Virginia,” he says. “Most of our families live here as well. As the saying goes, ‘There’s no place like home.’”