The Shadow
Dreama Anne Burchett Gorman Thurston
Dreama Anne Burchett Gorman Thurston, age 90, formerly of Palm Bay, Florida, left this earthly life on Monday, June 8, 2026, at LewisGale Medical Center in Salem, Virginia, following a brief and sudden illness.
Dreama was born on November 3, 1935, in Buchanan, Virginia, to Levi Preston Burchett and Blanche Irene Fauber Burchett. She lived her Christian faith, and was an integral part of the International Mission Board in Richmond, Virginia, where she fulfilled many roles. She was a longtime member of Sandston Baptist Church in Sandston, Virginia, then Lockmar Baptist in Palm Bay, Florida, where she retired. She had a degree in Elementary Education from Longwood College and Virginia Commonwealth University, and loved animals (especially cats), travel (lived in Honolulu, Hawaii), decorating her many houses over the years, yard sales, Cracker Barrel, and Dr. Pepper.
In addition to her parents, Dreama was preceded in death by her first husband, Robert Collins Gorman, Sr.; brother, Gatha Quentin Burchett, Sr.; special cousin Helen Painter Brookshire; and other loved ones who, alongside their Lord, are reunited with her now.
Left to cherish her memory are her children, DeeAnne Preston Gorman (Arthur Kleydman) of New York, and Robert Collins “Bob” Gorman, Jr. of Richmond; her husband, James Ruben Thurston, Sr.; his children, Deborah Thurston Williams (Jim) of Roanoke, Jim Thurston, Jr. (Amy) of Vinton, Ann Thurston Russell (Dale) of Vinton and their entire families; as well as her beloved nieces, cousins, extended Gorman relatives, many friends, and church family.
A service will be held on Sunday, June 14, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. in the chapel of Nicely Funeral Home, Clifton Forge, Virginia, with Pastor Manny Hernandez of Clifton Forge Baptist Church officiating. Interment will follow in the Burchett Family lot at Mountain View Cemetery, Clifton Forge.
The family suggests memorial tributes take the form of contributions in Dreama’s memory to https://ebeauty.com/ ; https://lookgoodfeelbetter.
To send condolences to the family online, please visit www.nicelyfuneralhome.com
