Bill was born into the Thornton family who in 1916 traded a ranch on the Cedar Creek Bench in Madison Valley, Montana for acreage on Lake St. Clair, Thurston County, WA. Bill’s grandparents, Emmett and Adah, opened a resort on the lake in 1929. Bill and his parents, William Sr. and Grace, lived nearby and Bill learned to fish and swim at an early age under his grandparent’s tutelage. While in Jr. High, Bill’s parents moved to the Seattle area where Bill graduated from Lincoln High School. Bill worked several high school summers with the forest service. During one such summer, he met his future wife, Marcella Blanchette, while cruising on the lake on his day off. He spent two years in the Army infantry and was stationed in Darmstadt, Germany. After Marcella completed her nursing education, they married in June, 1960 and moved to the Sea Tac area where they lived for 42 years, raising a family of four daughters and one son. Bill worked for 36 years as a Teamster short haul truck driver. In 2003, Bill and Marcella realized their dream of retiring to the property, fondly referred to as Dun-Ro-Min, on Lake St Clair, which was given to Bill by his grandparents when he was 19 years old. He spent many happy years there, fishing, boating, cutting wood, entertaining friends, and family. Bill passed away March 14, 2017 while in hospice care at home due to complications of metastatic colon cancer. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marcella and children: Michelle Davis (Bob) of Auburn, Don Thornton of Libby Montana, Shannon Lahn (Robert), three grandchildren of Mill Creek, Dana Knight (Bill) of Des Moines, WA and Liz Ohlenkhamp (Ron) one grandchild of Coeur d’ Alene Idaho.

A funeral mass will be held Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 11:00 am at St. Columban Church, 11540 Cemetary Rd SE, Yelm, WA 98597.

The family cordially invites you to join them for a reception following the service in the parish hall.

Remembrances may be made to Providence Sound Home Hospice Care