William “Bill” Glenn Thornley

William “Bill” Glenn Thornley, 88, passed away Friday, May 22, 2020, at the Delmar Gardens of Gwinnett Skilled Nursing Center in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He is survived by Ruth, his wife of 66 years. Other survivors include his sister, Elizabeth Morris, of Maryland; a daughter, Lisa (Dyke) Justin, of Sault Ste. Marie; a son, Mark (Terry) Thornley of Mukilteo, Washington; and a daughter, Kendra (Paul) Stinson of Peachtree Corners, Georgia.  Eight grandchildren were cherished by Bill, Whitney (Brendan Loula) Justin, Kelsey Justin, Jason (Colleen) Wrzesinski, Alyssa Thornley, Tyler (Joey) Stinson, Patrick William Stinson, Graeme Stinson and Cooper Stinson. Felix Loula, Afton Justin and Tommy Wrzesinski called Bill their Great-Grandpa.  Numerous nieces, nephews and extended family also survive him.  Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Janet and Paul Thornley; his sister, Catherine Pardike; and a grandson, Andrew Justin.

Bill was born and raised in Rogers City, graduating from Rogers City High School in 1949. In his late teens, he worked as a deckhand on a freighter, sailing the Great Lakes during the summers. He became a lifelong, genuine boat nerd, able to identify many freighters from a distance by their smokestacks and colors. While working toward a bachelor’s degree at the Sault Branch of Michigan College of Mining and Technology, he met the love of his life, Ruth Rhind, while attending services at the First Presbyterian Church of Sault Ste. Marie. Ruth sang in the choir on Sundays and Bill would sit in the front pew in order to catch her eye and wink at her. Ruth and Bill were married in that church in 1954 while Bill was home on leave from his Army service. 

Following his two years of military service at Ft. Bliss, Texas, Bill again worked toward his bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Michigan Tech in Houghton. He transferred to Eastern Michigan University to complete his degree. Bill began his long high school mathematics teaching career in Cedarville, before returning to the Ypsilanti, area to teach at Willow Run High School and complete his master’s degree in education. Bill and Ruth moved north to Manistee, in 1965 to a long-term mathematics teaching position at Manistee High School. Countless students learned algebra, geometry and pre-calculus from “Mr. Thornley” in his nearly 40-year career.  He was known for his dry sense of humor and was a stickler for proper grammar.  The phrase “can I…”  versus “may I…” was particularly annoying to him.  With his trademark black horn-rimmed glasses, his geometry students in the class of 1980 affectionately dubbed him “Captain Poindexter – armed with a straightedge and a compass, able to leap tall triangles in a single bound.”

While Bill and Ruth raised their three children, Bill enjoyed gardening, photography, coin collecting, woodworking, home renovation and playing cards with friends. He harvested grapes from his yard every year to make homemade wine. He didn’t limit his wine concoctions to the grapes in his backyard: pear and dandelion were two of the many other types of delicious wine. Bill was an avid rockhound and polished many of his treasures in his basement workshop. Family camping trips around the Midwest and Ontario were the highlight of the summers.  Bill was an active member of the Elks Lodge No. 250 in Manistee and many Friday nights were spent at the fish fry in the basement of the lodge.

Following his retirement, Bill and Ruth spent time traveling between Arizona and Michigan, camping along the way. They eventually made a permanent move to Green Valley, Arizona, where they enjoyed playing cards with friends, taking various classes and exploring the southwest.  Bill loved everything about the southwest and was known for wearing his favorite attire:  a plaid Western snap-front shirt and a bolo tie.

As Bill’s health declined, they moved from Arizona to an assi

sted living facility in Georgia in 2015 to be near their daughter, Kendra. He lived a quiet life with Ruth, and loved all the visits with family. The staff at their facility learned all of Bill’s jokes and appreciated his sense of humor.  Bill was moved to the skilled nursing center in late 2019 and was a resident there at the end of his life.

At Bill’s request, there will be no memorial service.  His body will be cremated and ashes dispersed as he requested.  

The family will gather later this year to celebrate his life with a songfest of all his favorite “oldies.”  The “Beer Barrel Polka” will definitely be one of those songs.