Martha Mary Thornton

Martha Mary Thornton passed away peacefully March 13, 2007, at 6:45 p.m. She was born Sept. 5, 1916, in Kansas City, Kan., to Clyde and Mena Osborne. She attended school in Decatur, Ill. Later she moved to Springfield, Ill., where she worked at Sangano Electric as a lathe operator for the World War II war effort. On Jan. 25, 1940, she married Thomas B. Thornton Sr. Then, after waiting for Thomas to come home from the war, they moved to Detroit, Mich., and raised their children. She was an avid homemaker and a seamstress for her family. Later they moved to Tipp City, Ohio, where she supervised the elderly at the Feightly Lutheran Home. She also attended Zion Lutheran Church. Hobbies and activities included being an active member of the American Legion and a Girl Scout leader. She liked to bowl and cook for her family. She loved animals. She lived at Lake Hattie Road, west of Laramie and later she moved to Laramie, Wyo., with her husband Thomas, where she was known as the "The Pie Lady" for baking her wonderful pies. She also did the cooking at the Cathedral Home Youth Center. She lived in Evans from 1993 - 1996. She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas B. Thornton Sr.; her parents; her brother, Charles; and her sisters, Ruth and Patricia. Surviving children: Thomas Thornton Jr., Pam Drago, David Thornton and Mena Bernhardt; grandchildren, Kevin and Nicholas Brigandi, Christina and Kendra Thornton, Autumn Drago, Miranda Carbaught, Abbey Bernhardt, and Shawn, Jacob, and Lillian Gilmour; great-grandchildren, Alex Brigandi, Rebecca McKinney, Chloe VanEvery, Nicholas Brigandi Jr., Cailey VanEvery, Ben Greenly, Grace Greenly, Lane Greenly, Drew Downing, Tate Downing and Ian Gilmour. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 24, 2007, at Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 W. Olive Street, Ft. Collins, Colo. There will be a celebration of Martha's life at 1 p.m., Saturday at Timberline Church, 2908 Timberline Road, Fort Collins.