John "Jack" Herbert Thornton, Jr.
Salem - John "Jack" Herbert Thornton, Jr., 88, passed away December 13, 2020, at home in Salem, Oregon. He was born in Paonia, CO, to John H. and Elaine W. Thornton. He grew up in Southern California where he later met his loving wife, Dee Wagner. They married in 1960, and in 1970 moved with their children to Salem, Oregon.
Jack was a Korean War Veteran serving in the US Navy aboard the Destroyer USS Gurke and he also worked on a minesweeper as an engine mechanic and rescue diver. He was honorably discharged in 1955.
Following military service, Jack worked in the fledgling air and space industry for AiResearch in Los Angeles. His favorite project was working on a wind tunnel for NASA's Project Gemini.
After moving to Oregon, he spent 23 years with the State of Oregon Highway Department as a maintenance technician and as a scuba diver inspecting the underwater pilings of all state bridges. He recently stated that he loved his job right up until he retired in 1993.
Jack was an avid outdoorsman, but his love of the ocean kept him swimming and scuba diving his entire life. A few of his dive adventures included night dives with manta rays, diving on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, an encounter with a whale shark, and at 87, a week on a dive boat in the Bahamas. Soon after retirement he joined the volunteer dive team at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport where, for 10 years, he participated in the care and feeding of all types of marine life.
He also loved camping, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, water skiing, cross-country skiing, star gazing, hiking - most any outdoor activity. You might also call him an animal whisperer - he was especially fond of talking to owls (see photo: he's holding a baby spider monkey while visiting Costa Rica). Jack and his family took many road trips in the family camper visiting most parts of the USA. His foreign travels included Italy, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada.
He was always on the go or working on projects. As a Boy Scout leader in the 1960's, he built 12 canoes in his garage for a scouting trip down the Colorado River. He could build or fix just about anything - and was always willing to help family, friends, neighbors, even strangers stranded roadside. He also put his carpentry skills to use as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Jack participated fully in life - he loved his family and was deeply loved. He will be sorely missed.
Jack is survived by his devoted wife of 60 years, Dee; sister Dona Lorie Smith of Marysville, CA; son Hugh Schumacher (aka Skip Thornton) of Salem; daughter Christy Thornton of Seattle; son David and wife Debbie Thornton of Tigard, OR; and grandson Jake Thornton of Tigard. He did not want a service; his ashes will be committed to the Pacific Ocean near Depoe Bay, Oregon later this year.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Oregon Coast Aquarium, Habitat for Humanity, or Kindred Hospice of Salem, OR.
Published in The Statesman Journal from Jan. 15 to Jan. 24, 2021.
Contributor: Janet Y (Arney) Thiessen (47278344)
Salem - John "Jack" Herbert Thornton, Jr., 88, passed away December 13, 2020, at home in Salem, Oregon. He was born in Paonia, CO, to John H. and Elaine W. Thornton. He grew up in Southern California where he later met his loving wife, Dee Wagner. They married in 1960, and in 1970 moved with their children to Salem, Oregon.
Jack was a Korean War Veteran serving in the US Navy aboard the Destroyer USS Gurke and he also worked on a minesweeper as an engine mechanic and rescue diver. He was honorably discharged in 1955.
Following military service, Jack worked in the fledgling air and space industry for AiResearch in Los Angeles. His favorite project was working on a wind tunnel for NASA's Project Gemini.
After moving to Oregon, he spent 23 years with the State of Oregon Highway Department as a maintenance technician and as a scuba diver inspecting the underwater pilings of all state bridges. He recently stated that he loved his job right up until he retired in 1993.
Jack was an avid outdoorsman, but his love of the ocean kept him swimming and scuba diving his entire life. A few of his dive adventures included night dives with manta rays, diving on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, an encounter with a whale shark, and at 87, a week on a dive boat in the Bahamas. Soon after retirement he joined the volunteer dive team at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport where, for 10 years, he participated in the care and feeding of all types of marine life.
He also loved camping, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, water skiing, cross-country skiing, star gazing, hiking - most any outdoor activity. You might also call him an animal whisperer - he was especially fond of talking to owls (see photo: he's holding a baby spider monkey while visiting Costa Rica). Jack and his family took many road trips in the family camper visiting most parts of the USA. His foreign travels included Italy, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada.
He was always on the go or working on projects. As a Boy Scout leader in the 1960's, he built 12 canoes in his garage for a scouting trip down the Colorado River. He could build or fix just about anything - and was always willing to help family, friends, neighbors, even strangers stranded roadside. He also put his carpentry skills to use as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Jack participated fully in life - he loved his family and was deeply loved. He will be sorely missed.
Jack is survived by his devoted wife of 60 years, Dee; sister Dona Lorie Smith of Marysville, CA; son Hugh Schumacher (aka Skip Thornton) of Salem; daughter Christy Thornton of Seattle; son David and wife Debbie Thornton of Tigard, OR; and grandson Jake Thornton of Tigard. He did not want a service; his ashes will be committed to the Pacific Ocean near Depoe Bay, Oregon later this year.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Oregon Coast Aquarium, Habitat for Humanity, or Kindred Hospice of Salem, OR.
Published in The Statesman Journal from Jan. 15 to Jan. 24, 2021.
Contributor: Janet Y (Arney) Thiessen (47278344)
John "Jack" Herbert Thornton, Jr.
Salem - John "Jack" Herbert Thornton, Jr., 88, passed away December 13, 2020, at home in Salem, Oregon. He was born in Paonia, CO, to John H. and Elaine W. Thornton. He grew up in Southern California where he later met his loving wife, Dee Wagner. They married in 1960, and in 1970 moved with their children to Salem, Oregon.
Jack was a Korean War Veteran serving in the US Navy aboard the Destroyer USS Gurke and he also worked on a minesweeper as an engine mechanic and rescue diver. He was honorably discharged in 1955.
Following military service, Jack worked in the fledgling air and space industry for AiResearch in Los Angeles. His favorite project was working on a wind tunnel for NASA's Project Gemini.
After moving to Oregon, he spent 23 years with the State of Oregon Highway Department as a maintenance technician and as a scuba diver inspecting the underwater pilings of all state bridges. He recently stated that he loved his job right up until he retired in 1993.
Jack was an avid outdoorsman, but his love of the ocean kept him swimming and scuba diving his entire life. A few of his dive adventures included night dives with manta rays, diving on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, an encounter with a whale shark, and at 87, a week on a dive boat in the Bahamas. Soon after retirement he joined the volunteer dive team at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport where, for 10 years, he participated in the care and feeding of all types of marine life.
He also loved camping, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, water skiing, cross-country skiing, star gazing, hiking - most any outdoor activity. You might also call him an animal whisperer - he was especially fond of talking to owls (see photo: he's holding a baby spider monkey while visiting Costa Rica). Jack and his family took many road trips in the family camper visiting most parts of the USA. His foreign travels included Italy, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada.
He was always on the go or working on projects. As a Boy Scout leader in the 1960's, he built 12 canoes in his garage for a scouting trip down the Colorado River. He could build or fix just about anything - and was always willing to help family, friends, neighbors, even strangers stranded roadside. He also put his carpentry skills to use as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Jack participated fully in life - he loved his family and was deeply loved. He will be sorely missed.
Jack is survived by his devoted wife of 60 years, Dee; sister Dona Lorie Smith of Marysville, CA; son Hugh Schumacher (aka Skip Thornton) of Salem; daughter Christy Thornton of Seattle; son David and wife Debbie Thornton of Tigard, OR; and grandson Jake Thornton of Tigard. He did not want a service; his ashes will be committed to the Pacific Ocean near Depoe Bay, Oregon later this year.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Oregon Coast Aquarium, Habitat for Humanity, or Kindred Hospice of Salem, OR.
Published in The Statesman Journal from Jan. 15 to Jan. 24, 2021.
Contributor: Janet Y (Arney) Thiessen (47278344)
Salem - John "Jack" Herbert Thornton, Jr., 88, passed away December 13, 2020, at home in Salem, Oregon. He was born in Paonia, CO, to John H. and Elaine W. Thornton. He grew up in Southern California where he later met his loving wife, Dee Wagner. They married in 1960, and in 1970 moved with their children to Salem, Oregon.
Jack was a Korean War Veteran serving in the US Navy aboard the Destroyer USS Gurke and he also worked on a minesweeper as an engine mechanic and rescue diver. He was honorably discharged in 1955.
Following military service, Jack worked in the fledgling air and space industry for AiResearch in Los Angeles. His favorite project was working on a wind tunnel for NASA's Project Gemini.
After moving to Oregon, he spent 23 years with the State of Oregon Highway Department as a maintenance technician and as a scuba diver inspecting the underwater pilings of all state bridges. He recently stated that he loved his job right up until he retired in 1993.
Jack was an avid outdoorsman, but his love of the ocean kept him swimming and scuba diving his entire life. A few of his dive adventures included night dives with manta rays, diving on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, an encounter with a whale shark, and at 87, a week on a dive boat in the Bahamas. Soon after retirement he joined the volunteer dive team at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport where, for 10 years, he participated in the care and feeding of all types of marine life.
He also loved camping, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, water skiing, cross-country skiing, star gazing, hiking - most any outdoor activity. You might also call him an animal whisperer - he was especially fond of talking to owls (see photo: he's holding a baby spider monkey while visiting Costa Rica). Jack and his family took many road trips in the family camper visiting most parts of the USA. His foreign travels included Italy, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada.
He was always on the go or working on projects. As a Boy Scout leader in the 1960's, he built 12 canoes in his garage for a scouting trip down the Colorado River. He could build or fix just about anything - and was always willing to help family, friends, neighbors, even strangers stranded roadside. He also put his carpentry skills to use as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Jack participated fully in life - he loved his family and was deeply loved. He will be sorely missed.
Jack is survived by his devoted wife of 60 years, Dee; sister Dona Lorie Smith of Marysville, CA; son Hugh Schumacher (aka Skip Thornton) of Salem; daughter Christy Thornton of Seattle; son David and wife Debbie Thornton of Tigard, OR; and grandson Jake Thornton of Tigard. He did not want a service; his ashes will be committed to the Pacific Ocean near Depoe Bay, Oregon later this year.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Oregon Coast Aquarium, Habitat for Humanity, or Kindred Hospice of Salem, OR.
Published in The Statesman Journal from Jan. 15 to Jan. 24, 2021.
Contributor: Janet Y (Arney) Thiessen (47278344)
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