Joseph F. Thornton, Jr., 77, of Manchester, died April 1, 2010 at home surrounded by his family.
He was born in Manchester January 1, 1933 to the late Joseph F. and Cora (Cronin) Thornton and was a lifelong resident of this city.
He graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1951 and attended Hesser College. He served in the US Air Force 4 years and was stationed in Weisbaden, Germany.
He retired in 1990 from the US Postal Service where he worked as a rural letter carrier for 33 years. He also worked security at Rockingham Park for 15 years and refereed many high school and college level soccer matches. After retirement he worked for Budget Rent-A-Car for 11 years.
He was a member of the League of 1000 Men of the Precious Blood Monastery, the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, the Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association and the Eastern Conference Chain Crew for Division I Collegiate football games. He had been a parishioner of St. Raphael Church for 50 years. He was also a dedicated volunteer for the St. Raphael Parish food pantry for many years.
He leaves his wife of 49 years, Jeanne (Dawson) Thornton of Manchester; his children, Betsy Gay and her husband, Rick, of Manchester and their children Dawson, Griffin and Macgregor; Susan Linehan and her husband, Ken, of Derry and their children Matthew, Sheilagh, and Patrick; Joe Thornton and his wife, Linda, of Bedford and their children Meghan and Brendan. He is also survived by his brother Paul Thornton and his wife, Susan, of Amherst as well as numerous nephews, nieces, cousins and dear friends. He was predeceased by his brother Daniel in 1966.
His faith and his family were most important. He enjoyed tennis, all Boston sports, handyman projects and all things Irish. He and his wife recently made the trip of a lifetime to Ireland with his parish. Time spent with family at Pine Point Beach, Maine was special to him. Most of all, he cherished his role as a husband, father, grandfather and friend.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at St. Raphael Church. Burial followed in St. Joseph Cemetery, Bedford, NH.
Memorial donations may be made to St. Raphael Food Pantry, 103 Walker St., Manchester, NH 03102.