1977: Edna Thornton was shocked to learn that her husband, David Thornton, lead a double life. To his colleagues at the hospital, he was a widower. In truth, Edna was very much alive and raising their daughter, Dottie Thornton.

1978: Edna turned to Dr. Jeff Martin when she began having heart pains. Little did she know, David was the culprit behind her condition. He had been slipping digitalis into her drinks. One day, Dottie innocently switched her drink with David’s. David went into cardiac arrest. He had laced the drink with a lethal dosage of digitalis.
Dr. Chris Karras, David's lover, was accused of the murder, but Jeff knew better. He did a toxicology screen on David’s body and linked his heart attack to the same cause of Edna’s heart pains. David had planned to kill Edna the night of the switch. Edna was now a rich widow.
Ray Gardner convinced Edna she needed protection in her isolated cabin. Edna allowed him to sleep on the couch. Ray was arrested later that year for the rape of Ruth Martin.
Edna dove right back into the dating scene. She grew especially fond of Benny Sago.

1979: Edna was surprised by the site of Ray, now a fugitive, making himself at home in her house. Edna knew what a dangerous man her one time friend was. She and Dottie were held hostage. Phil Brent came in to the rescue, posing as a doctor sent to treat another hostage, Dr. Chuck Tyler, whom Ray had shot.
Edna moved out of the cabin to be closer to Pine Valley. She was a frequent visitor of The Chateau’s bar. There, she would meet Langley Wallingford. Langley was taken with Edna until she let it slip that the richest woman in Pine Valley was Phoebe Tyler. Edna recognized that he was going to play her for her newfound fortune.
One night, Edna found Benny at the bar after having a few too many to drink. She took advantage of the situation by convincing him to marry her.
Benny proved to be a good father to Dottie.

1980: When Billy Clyde was arrested in Sea City, Benny opened his home to his wife Estelle LaTour. Edna knew this was the beginning of the end of he marriage. Benny had dated Estelle in the past. Edna asked Benny if he ever loved her, but he could not answer the question. Edna filed for a divorce.

1984: When Edna moved Dottie back to Pine Valley, she noticed her difficulty in making friends. Edna made it known that it was Dottie’s fault because she did not care enough about her appearance to find a boyfriend. Edna took matters into her own hands and hired Tad Martin to date her daughter. Dottie did one better, and got pregnant with his child. Edna found herself planning a winter wedding.

1985: Edna was devastated to see Dottie’s marriage to Tad crumble after her miscarriage. She welcomed her daughter home with open arms.

1986: Edna and Dottie were driving their car when a pedestrian jetted into the street. Edna was barely able to stop her car in time. When she got out, she realized the pedestrian was Hillary Wilson, dressed in her wedding gown and set to marry Tad. The Thorntons gave Hillary a ride to the Wallingford Estate, and witnessed her delayed nuptials to the man she loved.
Edna and Dottle settled back into their single lives. The events of the last year had repaired their estranged relationship.