William E. Thornton, 77, of Brighton, passed away April 30, 2013. He was born May 3, 1935, at home west of Brighton to Irwin and Nelma (Lantzy) Thornton. He graduated from Fort Lupton High School in 1953 and married Janet Nagel, of Fort Lupton, on July 2, 1955, at St. Augustine in Brighton.
Bill was a lifetime resident of the greater Brighton area. He was a dairy farmer and operated the Thornton Diary for 35 years, dairying in the Brighton/Henderson area for 13 years and in the Hudson area for 22 years. He served on the Board of Directors for The Mountain Empire Dairymen’s Association for eight years. They sold the farm in Hudson in 1992 and moved to Brighton. He then worked as a real estate agent with his daughter Shawna for a few years. For the past 11 years, he was an agent at Day & Co. Brighton Realty.
He loved sports, especially baseball and the Rockies. He was the “King” of the remote control when it came to sports on the TV. He coached his son Mike’s Legion Baseball team in Keenesburg, and for about 15 years coached his daughter Pam’s softball teams in Brighton.
Bill loved to make trips ‘up the mountain’ and to Las Vegas. Bill and Jan enjoyed traveling to Europe several times with friends and took a few cruises. He was a loving husband, father and grandpa, who was always there when you needed him. Bill was a happy, ornery fellow and loved to tease. He enjoyed the friendship of many over the years.
Bill is survived by his wife of 57 years, Janet, of Brighton; children, Mike (Terri) Thornton of Highlands Ranch, Pam (Harry) Brackelsberg of Brighton, Shawna (Greg) Stieber of Aurora and Brad (Lisa) Thornton of Decatur, Texas; sisters, Katherine Seiferle of Farmington, N.M., and Pat Lutz of Brighton; brother, Bob (Susan) Thornton of Thornton; seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by both parents and one grandson, Cody Brackelsberg in 2009.
Rosary service and visitation were May 5 at St. Augustine Catholic Church. Mass of Christian Burial was May 6 at St. Augustine Catholic Church. Interment followed at Elmwood Cemetery.
Tabor-Rice Funeral Home handled the arrangements.