Richard Thornton

Richard Wayne Thornton, resident of De Pere, WI, gave up the good fight and left us the sunny morning of September 19, 2025 at Edenbrook Nursing in Green Bay, WI. A very rare unrelenting disease hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) was his foe. The weapons to battle it were few, but Rich met the disease his way and, as he wished, was able to be close to home so he could visit with good friends and have one last gathering with family to say goodbye.

He was born in Troy, NY on February 4,1951 to Leona Thornton (nee Freemantle) and John Henry Thornton. He attended Troy High School and though he left early, he later earned his GED and went on to earn a year of college credits. He joined the Army in March of 1968 serving a six-month tour in Vietnam as part of his military career. He was honorably discharged in March of 1971. He met his wife, Patricia Wolfe, in April of 1975 when she stopped in to fuel up her car at the gas station he managed in Kingston, NY. They married on February 14, 1979, a date Rich chose so the stores’ Valentine décor would remind him of their wedding anniversary As a result he never did forget. The couple lived together in New York and then New Mexico before settling in Wisconsin where Pat’s family was based.

He worked most of his life as a roofer in Wisconsin and, earlier, as a road construction foreman in New Mexico. At different times in his life he worked in a felting factory, was the manager of a gas station, and worked security at Los Alamos Laboratories.

He loved sports of all kinds from the four major sports (football, baseball, basketball and hockey) to NASCAR, golf, professional wrestling, and even American Ninja Warrior. He supported the Yankees and Celtics throughout his life, but his favorite team was the New York Giants. He enjoyed those championship years, especially in 2007 and 2012 when his Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers to the chagrin of friends and family around him. His sons followed suit and all three cheered for their own choice of team. Later in life his sporting passion became his granddaughter Addison’s high school basketball career.

Rich possessed a large, loud personality. Good or bad, very few people who met him could forget him. Nor did he forget others. In his almost daily visits to Menards, Home Depot, etc. he called the service reps, the register clerks, even the shopping cart gatherers by name, and he kept up with what was going on in their lives. His neighbors all knew him well. To many, he was "Hardware Hank" because he could be counted on to have the right tool when needed, a stock of this nail or that wire for a repair, and above all gave of his time to help fix/repair whatever they needed done. He was an unofficial handyman to many. Repairing doors and windows, painting houses, fixing plumbing issues, installing appliances and even landscaping yards. He liked to keep busy, but he really enjoyed being with people. He would often say of a person in his life, “he/she is good people”; ultimately, he manifested that ideal of “good people” within himself.

When he found time to relax, camping was high on his list of affordable get-aways. Sitting around a campfire ‘baking’ pudgie pies and toasting marshmallows saw him absorbing the calm and hypnotic crackle of the fire and just relaxing. Camping trips were taken to Kentucky, Maine, New Mexico, Washington, Pennsylvania and Wyoming and to numerous local camping sites in Wisconsin as well as New Mexico. While stationed for a while at Kaiserslautern Military base in Germany he was able to see a bit of Europe. With his wife, Pat, he also enjoyed traveling to and exploring Ireland and England.

In retirement one of his greatest prides was supporting his grandchildren. He loved teaching them to use power tools to renovate or repair things around the house (despite protests from their parents). He supported his grandsons in their musical pursuits. He traveled across the country multiple times for his granddaughter’s basketball games. Additionally, when there was any opportunity to host cookouts or picnics, he would invite as many family, friends, and neighbors as he could reach. His political beliefs solidified in his later years as he sought to persuade those around him of his values of tolerance, equity, free speech, and rational thought.

He is survived by his wife of 46 years Patricia (nee Wolfe), his sons Richard Thomas (Holly) of New York, Patrick Michael (Siena) of De Pere and Brendan Alexander (Liz) of Green Bay and his adored grandchildren Zion, Tristan, Addison and Xavier as well as nine siblings, John, Jim, Joe, Debbie, Nancy, Austin, Travis, Sandy, Tracy, and Terry plus numerous nieces, nephews and in-laws. Sadly, he was preceded in death by three younger siblings, Wayne, Pearl and Michael.

A Celebration of Life gathering to remember Rich will be held on Saturday, October 18 beginning with visitation from 12:00-2:00 PM followed by life reflections from 2:00-2:30 PM at the Ledgeview Community Center at 3700 Dickinson Road, De Pere WI 54115. In lieu of flowers we ask you to please strongly consider a donation to either of the following:

· cancer.org HLH is considered a form of cancer and one of Rich’s final wishes was that people donate to find a cure for this monstrous disease.

· https://www.hlh-heroes.org/ to assist those who are caring for someone with HLH.

· https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/service/h/hlh/research performing ongoing HLH research