Mary Louise Thornton

Mary Louise (Strong) Thornton, 95, a longtime resident of Canon City, passed away
from natural causes at her home in Littleton, Colorado on July 21, 2024. She was
surrounded by her loving family.
Mary was born on October 18, 1928, to Jack and Rose Strong in Rock Springs,
Wyoming, where she spent her childhood and adolescent years with her three siblings,
all deceased. After graduating high school, she attended The Seton School of Nursing
in Colorado Springs and completed her internship at Glockner-Penrose Hospital (now
Penrose Hospital). Shortly after finishing her studies, a blind double-date led to her
finding her husband, James (Jim) Thornton. Romantic sparks flew between them, but
he wasn’t HER date! They married on December 31, 1949 and set up their first home in
Canon City, where her husband had deep roots and had attended grade school through
high school. Sadly, in 2000, Jim preceded her in death after celebrating 50 years of
marriage.
Her husband’s career with The John Deere Corporation marked Mary’s life and took
them from their early married years in Canon City to Salida, Alamosa, Durango,
Broomfield, Hays (Kansas), and eventually back to Canon City in 1979 where she lived
until December of 2022. She and her husband were blessed with four children:
Rosemary (Randy) Scott of Littleton, Patricia (Jon) Keil of Charlotte, North Carolina,
Jim (Gina) Thornton of Canon City and Tom Thornton, who preceded her in death in
2023.
Known for her sweet and simple demeanor, Mary found joy in the quiet moments. She
was an avid gardener of flowers, letting her husband take care of the vegetables and
fruits. Mary independently mowed her own lawn until she was 80 and then finally
allowed her kindhearted next-door neighbors to help her! She loved to read romance
novels, mystery novels (especially British mysteries) and when moving to a new town,
her one request was that she lived close to a library.
Mary was blessed with 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren: Erin (Travis) Judd,
Lauren (Nate) Benton, Caitlin (Sean) Monaghan, Jamie (Mason) McIntyre, Colin Keil,
Dane Keil, Jake (Valerie) Thornton, Tom Thornton, Adam (Brittany) Thornton, and
Amanda (Shawn) Pesh; great-grandchildren: Kaylee Judd, Abby Judd, Reece Benton,
Avery Benton, Kellan Benton, Riley Monaghan, Keira Monaghan, Kyla McIntyre,
Wednesday Thornton, James Thornton, Victoria Thornton, Elizabeth Thornton, Chloe
Pesh, Stella Pesh and one more great-grandson due in October.
A funeral mass will be held at 10:00 am on Tuesday, August 6th , 2024 at Saint Michael
Catholic Church in Canon City. Interment will be at Greenwood Cemetery.
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”- Romans 10:13.

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