Michael Leon Thurman

On Friday, July 14, 2023, the Thurman family lost their patriarch. Michael “Mike” Leon Thurman, 70, of Montgomery, AL lost his life from complications after open heart surgery. Mike was born in Anchorage, Alaska on April 2, 1953. While attending Fayetteville High School-East, he was incredibly involved in ROTC. His high school used his created routines for years after his graduation. He received an ROTC scholarship to the University of Arkansas. He joined the Air Force and served 20 years stationed in Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany; San Vito dei Normanni Air Station, Italy; and finally, Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. After retirement from the military, he worked as a warehouse parts manager at ABS Business Systems of Montgomery.

Mike came from a musically talented family which created his love of playing the guitar and dulcimer. His grandfather Elsie Thurman played the fiddle and banjo. His grandmother Tina Thurman played the piano. His father Kenneth Thurman played the guitar. His brothers played the guitar and drums. He played dulcimer with the Montgomery Dulcimer Players where they played at Old Alabama Town, the Alabama State Fair, the Mardi Gras parade, and other festivals. He played at nursing homes with both the Montgomery group and with the Whistle Stop Pickers in Loachapoka, Alabama. He provided servicing and restoration to vintage chairs, rockers, and fans. He had a passion for preserving history and the tradition of basket weaving and chair caning. He taught classes at Loachapoka and Union Springs, and passed the skill along to his oldest grandson Cesar. In addition to playing music and basketry, Mike helped the community by serving as a Boy Scout Master for Troop 103 for 35 years. All of his boy scout books and collectibles are being donated to the Boy Scouts of Montgomery.

Although Mike and his family settled in Alabama, there was no denying his Arkansas roots. He was a diehard University of Arkansas Razorbacks fan. Mike often wore a Razorbacks hat and the color “Razorback red.” His truck was this same cardinal color and he had a tusk hanging from his rearview mirror. He and his family traveled back to Arkansas as often as they could to visit family.

Mike is survived by his loving wife of 47 years Maria Guadalupe Thurman; his sons Michael (Christina) Thurman and Chris (Holly) Thurman; his daughter Michaela Thurman; his granddaughters Anjelica Maria Valencia, Alexandria Gabriella Thurman, and Ana Maria Thurman; his grandsons Cesar Miguel Valencia, Carlos Anthony Thurman, and Woodson Fernando Thurman; and siblings Beverly Ruth Williams, Martin Ray Thurman, Jeannie Marie B. Palmer, Rhonda Sue Lindley-Rivera, Kenneth Thurman, Lenny Thurman, and Tina Marie Thurman Jones.

Mike is predeceased by his father Kenneth Leon Thurman and his mother Lonnie Rae Lowe Thurman Lindley.

Friends and members of the community are invited to join the Thurman family on Saturday, August 19, 2023, at 11 a.m. for a funeral mass. Join us at St. Peter Catholic Church at 219 Adams Avenue in Montgomery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the St. Peter Building Fund, which he felt strongly about. Family members will have Mike’s ashes interred in the above-ground columbarium niches in a private ceremony at the Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo at a later date.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Leak-MC.com for the Thurman family.