Born on Tuesday, Died on Sunday
Aged 86 years, 7 months, 12 days.
Longtime Kenai resident, David Foster Thornton, aka the Old Brown Bear, 86, passed away Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017 at his home with family at his side.
He was born the youngest of seven in Bowie, Texas on June 10, 1930 to Silas Weaver and Girlie Mae (Frazier) Thornton. He read adventure books as a boy and dreamt of one day taking grand escapades of his own. After graduation he went to work for Geophysical Seismograph Co. in Dallas. While working in Coleman, Texas in 1950 he met Mary Rose Miller - six months later they were married and celebrated their 66th anniversary on Jan 19, 2017.
David served in the Army from 1951-1956 and then did carpentry and various construction projects in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico.
Still, the call of the wild was in his blood, and he knew there was something more. In the summer of 1963 he and Mary formulated a plan to start what turned into the biggest adventure of the rest of their lives and the lives of their three children. They travelled the Al-Can Highway from Texas with everything they needed and arrived in Kenai on July 3, 1963.
David worked construction in Swanson River Oilfield and later for Amaco Oil where he retired in 1988. He had a passion for the great outdoors and became a great hunter and guide. When his reloading bench in the attic became too small for his consuming hobby, his dream grew bigger. In 1990 he opened Brown Bear Gun Shop and Museum. It was known in the area that if you needed rare ammo or custom gunsmithing, to went to see the Brown Bear. There would likely be great stories and advice to go along with a valued purchase. Character he was, definitely a self-made man with many talents and interests.
He was always a good natured soul who had his tales to tell, but lived his life with truth and integrity which were his foundation because of his deep rooted belief in God, and always strived to be that better person. Part of his dream in moving to Alaska was to help establish the Church of Christ in Kenai. In the process, he developed a strong devotion with many Christians on the peninsula and in Anchorage. He used profits from his gun shop to support several trips to India and to build a church and orphanage there.
He will be deeply missed by his surviving family and all those who knew him, including his loving wife, Mary; son, David and wife, Liudmila; daughters, Teresa Elmore and husband, Bill and Candace Berman; eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 at Peninsula Memorial Chapel. Funeral services will be at 11a.m. Saturday, Jan 28, 2017 at the Soldotna Church of Christ, Mile 91.7 Sterling Hwy. Interment will be at Spruce Grove Cemetery in Kasilof.
In lieu of flowers, donations in David's name may be given to Church of Christ India Orphanage, c/o William Clary, 2237 Trowbridge Rd. Springfield, IL 62703.
~ The Peninsula Clarion, 26-Jan-2017
Aged 86 years, 7 months, 12 days.
Longtime Kenai resident, David Foster Thornton, aka the Old Brown Bear, 86, passed away Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017 at his home with family at his side.
He was born the youngest of seven in Bowie, Texas on June 10, 1930 to Silas Weaver and Girlie Mae (Frazier) Thornton. He read adventure books as a boy and dreamt of one day taking grand escapades of his own. After graduation he went to work for Geophysical Seismograph Co. in Dallas. While working in Coleman, Texas in 1950 he met Mary Rose Miller - six months later they were married and celebrated their 66th anniversary on Jan 19, 2017.
David served in the Army from 1951-1956 and then did carpentry and various construction projects in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico.
Still, the call of the wild was in his blood, and he knew there was something more. In the summer of 1963 he and Mary formulated a plan to start what turned into the biggest adventure of the rest of their lives and the lives of their three children. They travelled the Al-Can Highway from Texas with everything they needed and arrived in Kenai on July 3, 1963.
David worked construction in Swanson River Oilfield and later for Amaco Oil where he retired in 1988. He had a passion for the great outdoors and became a great hunter and guide. When his reloading bench in the attic became too small for his consuming hobby, his dream grew bigger. In 1990 he opened Brown Bear Gun Shop and Museum. It was known in the area that if you needed rare ammo or custom gunsmithing, to went to see the Brown Bear. There would likely be great stories and advice to go along with a valued purchase. Character he was, definitely a self-made man with many talents and interests.
He was always a good natured soul who had his tales to tell, but lived his life with truth and integrity which were his foundation because of his deep rooted belief in God, and always strived to be that better person. Part of his dream in moving to Alaska was to help establish the Church of Christ in Kenai. In the process, he developed a strong devotion with many Christians on the peninsula and in Anchorage. He used profits from his gun shop to support several trips to India and to build a church and orphanage there.
He will be deeply missed by his surviving family and all those who knew him, including his loving wife, Mary; son, David and wife, Liudmila; daughters, Teresa Elmore and husband, Bill and Candace Berman; eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 at Peninsula Memorial Chapel. Funeral services will be at 11a.m. Saturday, Jan 28, 2017 at the Soldotna Church of Christ, Mile 91.7 Sterling Hwy. Interment will be at Spruce Grove Cemetery in Kasilof.
In lieu of flowers, donations in David's name may be given to Church of Christ India Orphanage, c/o William Clary, 2237 Trowbridge Rd. Springfield, IL 62703.
~ The Peninsula Clarion, 26-Jan-2017
Born on Tuesday, Died on Sunday
Aged 86 years, 7 months, 12 days.
Longtime Kenai resident, David Foster Thornton, aka the Old Brown Bear, 86, passed away Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017 at his home with family at his side.
He was born the youngest of seven in Bowie, Texas on June 10, 1930 to Silas Weaver and Girlie Mae (Frazier) Thornton. He read adventure books as a boy and dreamt of one day taking grand escapades of his own. After graduation he went to work for Geophysical Seismograph Co. in Dallas. While working in Coleman, Texas in 1950 he met Mary Rose Miller - six months later they were married and celebrated their 66th anniversary on Jan 19, 2017.
David served in the Army from 1951-1956 and then did carpentry and various construction projects in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico.
Still, the call of the wild was in his blood, and he knew there was something more. In the summer of 1963 he and Mary formulated a plan to start what turned into the biggest adventure of the rest of their lives and the lives of their three children. They travelled the Al-Can Highway from Texas with everything they needed and arrived in Kenai on July 3, 1963.
David worked construction in Swanson River Oilfield and later for Amaco Oil where he retired in 1988. He had a passion for the great outdoors and became a great hunter and guide. When his reloading bench in the attic became too small for his consuming hobby, his dream grew bigger. In 1990 he opened Brown Bear Gun Shop and Museum. It was known in the area that if you needed rare ammo or custom gunsmithing, to went to see the Brown Bear. There would likely be great stories and advice to go along with a valued purchase. Character he was, definitely a self-made man with many talents and interests.
He was always a good natured soul who had his tales to tell, but lived his life with truth and integrity which were his foundation because of his deep rooted belief in God, and always strived to be that better person. Part of his dream in moving to Alaska was to help establish the Church of Christ in Kenai. In the process, he developed a strong devotion with many Christians on the peninsula and in Anchorage. He used profits from his gun shop to support several trips to India and to build a church and orphanage there.
He will be deeply missed by his surviving family and all those who knew him, including his loving wife, Mary; son, David and wife, Liudmila; daughters, Teresa Elmore and husband, Bill and Candace Berman; eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 at Peninsula Memorial Chapel. Funeral services will be at 11a.m. Saturday, Jan 28, 2017 at the Soldotna Church of Christ, Mile 91.7 Sterling Hwy. Interment will be at Spruce Grove Cemetery in Kasilof.
In lieu of flowers, donations in David's name may be given to Church of Christ India Orphanage, c/o William Clary, 2237 Trowbridge Rd. Springfield, IL 62703.
~ The Peninsula Clarion, 26-Jan-2017
Aged 86 years, 7 months, 12 days.
Longtime Kenai resident, David Foster Thornton, aka the Old Brown Bear, 86, passed away Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017 at his home with family at his side.
He was born the youngest of seven in Bowie, Texas on June 10, 1930 to Silas Weaver and Girlie Mae (Frazier) Thornton. He read adventure books as a boy and dreamt of one day taking grand escapades of his own. After graduation he went to work for Geophysical Seismograph Co. in Dallas. While working in Coleman, Texas in 1950 he met Mary Rose Miller - six months later they were married and celebrated their 66th anniversary on Jan 19, 2017.
David served in the Army from 1951-1956 and then did carpentry and various construction projects in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico.
Still, the call of the wild was in his blood, and he knew there was something more. In the summer of 1963 he and Mary formulated a plan to start what turned into the biggest adventure of the rest of their lives and the lives of their three children. They travelled the Al-Can Highway from Texas with everything they needed and arrived in Kenai on July 3, 1963.
David worked construction in Swanson River Oilfield and later for Amaco Oil where he retired in 1988. He had a passion for the great outdoors and became a great hunter and guide. When his reloading bench in the attic became too small for his consuming hobby, his dream grew bigger. In 1990 he opened Brown Bear Gun Shop and Museum. It was known in the area that if you needed rare ammo or custom gunsmithing, to went to see the Brown Bear. There would likely be great stories and advice to go along with a valued purchase. Character he was, definitely a self-made man with many talents and interests.
He was always a good natured soul who had his tales to tell, but lived his life with truth and integrity which were his foundation because of his deep rooted belief in God, and always strived to be that better person. Part of his dream in moving to Alaska was to help establish the Church of Christ in Kenai. In the process, he developed a strong devotion with many Christians on the peninsula and in Anchorage. He used profits from his gun shop to support several trips to India and to build a church and orphanage there.
He will be deeply missed by his surviving family and all those who knew him, including his loving wife, Mary; son, David and wife, Liudmila; daughters, Teresa Elmore and husband, Bill and Candace Berman; eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 at Peninsula Memorial Chapel. Funeral services will be at 11a.m. Saturday, Jan 28, 2017 at the Soldotna Church of Christ, Mile 91.7 Sterling Hwy. Interment will be at Spruce Grove Cemetery in Kasilof.
In lieu of flowers, donations in David's name may be given to Church of Christ India Orphanage, c/o William Clary, 2237 Trowbridge Rd. Springfield, IL 62703.
~ The Peninsula Clarion, 26-Jan-2017
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