John Charles Thornton Sr., a family man and loving grandfather to 13 grandchildren, passed away October 8, 2021 after struggling with liver disease. He was 77 years old. He died at home surrounded by his wife and children.

John Thornton was born to John Daniel and Lucille Thornton on November 14, 1943 and grew up in a house near Olmos Creek off of Blanco Road. He was the third of four children. Prior to John's birth, his brother died of polio at age five before the advent of a vaccine.

John, nicknamed 'JC,' lived with his wife Arlene Thornton, 72, along Huebner Road in Northwest San Antonio for over 40 years. There, they raised their five children in a devout Catholic home. John and Arlene helped raise grandchildren there too.

At home, John's jolly sense of humor and affinity for cooking and baking were like magnets drawing in the love and company of family — nieces, nephews and siblings-in-law — for weekend lunches at a crowded dining table.

"Family didn't need to call, they could just come," John's daughter Teresa Brezenski said. "I don't know how anyone could have felt alone in that environment. You could join any conversation or listen to anyone talk, it was my favorite."

In his later years, John's devotion to family was expressed through backyard Bar-B-Q gatherings, regular phone calls to relatives young and old and simple leisure time spent in front of the television or in the car for peaceful, scenic joy rides through Leon Valley's chaparral.

"No matter what we were doing, they would always be excited to do things with other people," said John's grandson Andrew Brezenski. "There was no stress whatsoever and we could go day to day without worrying about anything. I remember being excited about visiting grandma and grandpa for weeks in advance."

John graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1962.  Later, he would earn a history degree from Saint Mary's University.

John Thornton and Arlene Frail met in 1963 while John was working at a service station where Arlene would buy milk for her mother.  The two would spend so much time talking that Arlene's mother would ask why the errand would take her so long.

John and Arlene married in May of 1969. Their marriage would last 52 years.

In the 1980s and 90s John worked for Handy Dan and Builders' Square as a retail hardware buyer. Business in Chicago, on the East Coast and even company trips that took him as far as China became some of John's most rewarding professional experiences. He would relish these opportunities to explore new cultures and cuisines.

When John took a job with San Marcos-based building supplier McCoy's, he would make the hours-long round-trip commute to offices in San Marcos every day to provide for his family. He retired in 2005.

By that same year John and Arlene had put all five of their children through John Marshall High School and sent their youngest off to college.

Outside of the home, John enjoyed fishing and the occasional hunting trip.

John's death was preceded by those of his parents and his sister Elizabeth Griffin.

John Thornton is survived by his wife Arlene Thornton, and five children: John Jr., Timothy, Teresa, Robert and Erin.  His sister Mary Whitmire, 71, still lives in Northeast San Antonio.

Visitation will begin on Wednesday, October 13, at 6:00 P.M. with a Rosary to be recited at 7:00 P.M. at the Angelus Chapel.  A Funeral Mass will take place on Thursday, October 14 at 10 a.m. at St. Luke Catholic Church at 4603 Manitou Drive. Graveside Services will be held at 12:30 P.M. at Holy Cross Cemetery, there will not be a procession to the cemetery.