Keeping his memory alive

A year ago on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018, Willie Thornton, Jr. passed away from his battle with Alzheimer’s and bone cancer. His wife Emma Thornton misses him dearly, and is in the process of keeping his memory alive through offering a scholarship for students pursuing college.

“Willie was a wonderful, a man of integrity, a great father to his children, an amazing husband and friend,” Emma said. “I was extremely blessed to have five and half years with my soul mate. We were so in love and inseparable of each other that we always asked God why could we have not found each other earlier in life.”

Thornton was born in Perry on Feb. 12, 1946. After graduating high school, he joined the United States Army in 1965. Emma shared that he served until 1968 with the rank of E5 Sergeant and served in Vietnam War from 1967-1968. Thornton was awarded a Bronze Star and two Army Medal Commendations for military operations in Vietnam. Thornton then went on to work for multiple companies and in 1989, was hired by the City of Perry in 1989, where he worked as a sanitation supervisor.

“When we first met is when we became in separable,” Emma said. “We spent each and everyday with each other and we loved to travel. Our favorite places to go were Amelia Island and Savannah. He taught me everything from gardening to hunting. I always called our backyard the garden of eden because we had apple trees, pear trees and plum trees and the biggest tomatoes you’ve ever seen. It was all organic too. He had a German Shepherd named Shelby and we later got Star who was also a German Shepherd. We enjoyed taking them out for walks daily. We both just loved life and each other.”

Then in 2017 was the beginning of Thornton’s health battle. Emma said her husband had two different strokes and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She wanted to be near the best doctors so they then moved to Alpharetta, Georgia.

“Willie adjusted well to the new home,” Emma said. “Over time I thought we could beat Alzheimer’s, but one thing I was blessed by was he never forgot me. I was always by his side and took care of him alongside his caregivers. But then he was in so much pain that he had to have morphine every 12 hours well that was because in May of 2018, we found out he was diagnosed with stage 4 bone cancer. He couldn’t take the pain, and on Oct. 18, 2018, he passed away. It still doesn’t feel real, but he will forever be in my heart with me.”

Emma wants to continue to keep her husband’s memory alive and bless students with a little bit of help by offering a scholarship in Thornton’s memory.

“I plan to fund the money myself this year, but hope that this will grow and others will want to help sponsor,” Emma said. “I have been speaking with the Houston County Board of Education and my goal is to offer two $500 scholarships to high school students who plan to further their education. The details are being ironed out, but the deadline is set for April 1 of 2020. Willie loved life and he was always learning and I want to continue his memory and pass on that love to others.”