Donald Lee Thornton

Don Thornton age 90 died at Hospice of Northwest Ohio Wednesday, June 30, 2021. He was born October 12, 1930, the fifth child of six born to Frank L. and Mabel (Bertram) Thornton. He grew up in the old South End of Toledo, graduating from Libbey High School in 1948 where he played on their golf team. Golf was a big part of his life, caddying at Toledo Country Club from the age of 10. While still in high school he started his career at Owens-Illinois, working as a printing press operator and was then instrumental in starting the die operation for making rubber printing plates for printing on corrugated boxes for their plants around the U.S. Don served as president of the Athletic Counsel and president of the O-I golf league and got his first hole-in-one at Valleywood Golf Course. He and his brother, Lee, won many trophies while playing partners in the O-I leagues. Don retired from Owens-Illinois in 1985 after 38 years of service. He also enjoyed being involved in the S.T.A.R.S. (South Toledo Area Recreational Society) football league where he was commissioner and where his two sons played football. Don was a member of the Golden Emblem Club at O-I and was a 60+ member of Sylvania Pyramid Masonic Lodge #287. He regularly attended Cedar Creek Church in Perrysburg. Besides his passion for golf, Don enjoyed boating and fishing, garage saling, playing euchre and growing good Ohio tomatoes. The Perrysburg regular garage salers will miss the butterscotch candy he always had in his pocket. He also enjoyed spending winters in Englewood Florida for the past 18 years. His greatest joy came from making people laugh. Wherever he was, people were having a good time. He had a “Johnny Carson” sense of humor that attracted people to him, and he will certainly be missed by everyone who knew him. Surviving is his wife of 50 years, Marlyn (Strohl) Thornton; children, Marsha (Curtis) Moore of Atlanta, Bernard (Donna) Thornton of Lawrenceburg, KY, Jacquelyn (Tim) Holmes of Sylvania, Ronald (Amy) Thornton of Toledo, Barbara (Tom) Plotner of Rossford and Rhonda Fackler of Bryan; 14 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and 2 great great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Russell, Leroy and Gerald Thornton; sisters, Deloras Russell and Patsy Dazell; stepson, Russell Ruffner; son-in-law Bill Fackler and granddaughter, Julia Bolden. Family and friends will be received at the Witzler-Shank-Walker Funeral Home, 222 E. South Boundary St., Perrysburg on Monday, July 5, 2021, from 2-4 PM and 6-8 PM. Funeral services will be held at the funeral home on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, at 11:00 AM. Interment will immediately follow at Ft. Meigs Cemetery in Perrysburg. Anyone wishing to give a memorial in Don’s name, please consider the American Cancer Society Research Fund or the American Heart Association.