Albert C. Thornton

Albert Callow Thornton (Al) was born in Denver, CO on March 26, 1934 to Albert and Hazel (Callow) Thornton. He was the youngest of three children, and he had two older sisters named Adeline and June. Unfortunately, Hazel died from cancer when Albert was young, so he spent several of his childhood years in the care of his eldest sister Adeline and her husband George Milo McKelvey. Adeline and Milo had one daughter, Alice Ann, who was very close in age to Al so the two children developed a close relationship that endured throughout their youth and into adulthood.

Al eventually returned to the Denver area to live with his father. He graduated from Denver North High School in 1952. He spent some time working at Lowry Air Force Base in the PX. Al enlisted in the Army in October of 1952, and after completing training at Ft. Carson in Colorado, he spent most of his service at bases in Washington State. He was granted an honorable discharge from the Army in October of 1954.

After completing his service, Al returned to Colorado and began working for the State of Colorado in a variety of clerical positions. In 1963 at a wedding for some mutual friends, he met Martha Holden. Martha grew up in the farming communities of eastern Colorado, but she had moved to Denver two years earlier and was working for Atlantic and Pacific Insurance Company. After dating for some time, Albert and Martha were married at Central Presbyterian in Denver on June 13, 1964. They celebrated 46 years of marriage this past June.

Al and Martha lived near the old Elitch Gardens for one year and then moved to a small home in University Park. Al began working at Yarborough Drug on Colorado Boulevard. In May of 1970, Martha gave birth to Katherine Marie. In August 1972, she gave birth to their son, Paul Michael Thornton.

Al continued working at Yarborough Drug for a few more years, he later completed an Associates degree in Business Administration from Parks College and then began working for the Federal Government at Lowry Air Base. He continued working there for a number of years, retired from the Federal Government and then again began working for the State of Colorado. Al retired from the State in December of 2005.

In the early 1970’s Al began attending a local congregation of the Worldwide Church of God. His faith was very important to Al. Despite helping Martha with the challenges of caring for two children, including a son with significant physical disabilities Al was an active member of this particular denomination for nearly 40 years. He served the congregation in several ways, including working with the sound system, working with the facility clean-up crew, and driving members to services and yearly conferences. Al and his family were also active in several other aspects of church life including the youth and adult sports programs, sign language, and a myriad of church fundraisers.

In addition to his relationship with God, Al was a dedicated husband, brother, father and grandfather. He loved music and studied voice and theatre organ during his adult years, and he enjoyed playing a variety of sports including basketball and softball. He also enjoyed cheering for local sports teams including the Broncos and Avalanche. In the late 1970’s Al and daughter Kathy attended “clown school”, and Al appeared as “Ralphie the Clown” at a variety of picnics, parties, parades, hospitals and other event during the course of almost 15 years.

Albert Callow Thornton died on July 19, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. Although he battled serious health concerns in his last few years, Al is remembered for his perseverance, as well as his kindness and concern for others. Al’s dedication to service and his family, his commitment to right and wrong and his offbeat sense of humor will be missed by all that knew him.