Mary Kathryn Thornton

Mary Kathryn (Kate) Thornton, age 68, passed this life at Hospice of Northwest Ohio on Friday, July 12, 2019, with her family at her side. She was diagnosed with late stage four breast cancer on August 4, 2018 and resided for the last eleven months of her life at the Lutheran Long-Term Care Home, Wheeling Street, under Hospice care. Mary was born on April 16, 1951 to Harry and Dorothy (Navarre) Thornton in Toledo, Ohio. At the age of two, her family moved to Oregon, Ohio where she lived her entire life until her illness. She attended Sacred Heart Elementary School and was a 1969 graduate of Cardinal Stritch High school. During her life, Mary was the devoted daughter of and companion to her mother, Dorothy, until the latter’s death in 2007. In her younger years, she helped care for her nephews while their mother worked. Mary (Kate) liked magazines, cheap purses, stuffed animals, doorstoppers, HGTV shows, cats, glassware, decorating, travel and metal music. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her paternal grandparents, Alfred and Catharine Thornton, her maternal grandparents, Frank and Mary Navarre, and special uncle, Vincent Thornton, who called her “Pesty” as a child. Mary is survived by her sister, Suzanne Church; nephews, Travis (Tammy) Church and Miles (Shannon) Church plus four great nephews and nieces, Matty, Nate, Lylah and Samantha. A visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. until the start of the Funeral Mass at 10:00 a.m. at the Epiphany of the Lord Parish at Sacred Heart, 509 Oswald Street, Toledo, OH. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to Genacross Lutheran Services Foundation, 2021 N. McCord Rd. Toledo, Oh 43615-3030, which operates the Lutheran Long-Term Care facility. A special thanks to Laura, her Hospice nurse, and Karen, her Hospice worker, who bathed Mary three times a week. Online condolences may be left at Hoeflingerfuneralhome.com