Elvis Bernell Thornton

Elvis Bernell Thornton was born December 25, 1928, to John Hollis Thornton and Lena Elizabeth Harrison Thornton in Owens, TX. He married Mildred LaVern Arnold on July 14, 1950, in Clovis, New Mexico.

He was a Godly Christian man and was baptized at an early age. He served as a teacher, Deacon and Elder and worshiped at Kings Ridge Church of Christ.

Elvis graduated from Lubbock High School in 1948. He enlisted in the United States Air Force and served for 4 years during the Korean Conflict. After his Honorable Discharge from the Air Force in 1955, he and his wife and two young boys, Ken and Ronnie, returned to Lubbock, Texas. He returned to work at Southwestern Public Service, and they added a daughter, Angie, to the family. He worked for SPS for 42 years and retired in 1991. He was his boys’ baseball coach, Boy Scout Leader, PTA president along with LaVern, Sunday school teacher, helped with the kid’s paper routes and he could fix just about anything. He and LaVern helped their grandchildren with a lawn mowing business for many summers and multiple Scout troop projects.

But he loved to camp. He really enjoyed sitting by a campfire whittling on wood and doing all kinds of woodworking projects. He loved the smell of the fresh pine trees and camping in the mountains. He and his brothers, sons and nephews did a lot of concrete work on the side. He also enjoyed mowing the grass and working outside in their beautiful yard of flowers. He never met a stranger and always had a joke to tell. He loved peppermint candy and cracking pecans. He has some of each in his pockets right now.

Elvis Thornton is survived by his wife of 73 years Mildred LaVern Thornton, of Lubbock and now Spring Branch, Texas: Kenneth Thornton – son and his wife Cheryl, of Spring Branch, Texas, Ronald Thornton – son and his wife Paula, of Lamesa, Texas, and Angie Gregg – daughter, of Houston, Texas. His grandchildren Ashley Schafer, Amy Eskew, Eric Thornton, Nicole Oberle, Travis Gregg, Lacey Green, and 14 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by one brother, Darwin Thornton and his wife Nancy of Broomfield, Colorado.

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