Donald “Don” Thornton

November 19, 2012

Coach Donald “Don” Thornton, age 65 of Vernon, AL, passed away Saturday, November 17, 2012, in Enterprise. Mr. Thornton was born March 27, 1947, in Amory, MS, to the late Earl Brown and Aleen Thornton. He was a 1965 graduate of Sulligent High School and a 1969 graduate of Livingston University. He coached and taught at Kennedy High School, Carrollton High School, and Millry High School. For the next 18 years, he moved into the insurance business, but his passion for coaching continued on, leading him back to the field in 1992 at T.W. Martin High School. He then moved to Flomaton High School in 1994 and taught and coached there until his retirement in 2007 when he moved back to Vernon. After retirement, he served as a Vernon City Councilman, a member of the Oak Hill Country Club board, and a volunteer football coach for the Lamar County High School Bulldogs from 2008 to present. He was a member of Vernon First United Methodist Church.

Coach Thornton is survived by his wife, Jeanne Thornton of Vernon; three sons, Joey Thornton of Enterprise, Clint (Carrie) Thornton of Tallahassee, snd David (Tonya) Thornton of Ellisville, MS; daughter, Gina (Myles) Hudson of Hattiesburg, MS; eleven grandchildren, Taylor, Karoline, Whitney, Grant, Andrew, Carson, Avery, Alex, Lizzie, Baylinn, and Layson; three aunts, Alice Burns, Janie Waldon, and Bea McClendon; and a host of cousins.

Funeral services will be Tuesday, November 20, 2012,  at 11 in the Vernon City Complex Auditorium with Eddie Rogers and Patrick Gunn officiating. Graveside services will follow at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery.

Active pallbearers will be Joey Thornton, Clint Thornton, David Thornton, Myles Hudson, Trent Collins, Frankie Rogers, Ken Prager, and Woodie Knight.

Honorary pallbearers will be Coach Thornton’s football players, past and present.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the LCHS Football Fieldhouse Project. Donations can be made payable and sent to the Lamar County Board of Education, P.O. Box 1375, Vernon, AL 35592, with a memo specifying LCHS Football.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Obituaries