Bill Richard Thornburg

Mr. Bill Thornburg was born on August 19, 1926 in Bend, Oregon. Bill was raised and educated in Burns, Oregon and was a graduate of Burns Union High School. As a young man he worked for the Coca-Cola plant in Burns, where he and his cousins ran the plant. He served in the Army Air Force as an MP during WWII. He later moved to Portland where he serviced all of the machines at the Coca-Cola plant in Portland. He also worked for many years as the warranty manager for Fred's RV until he retired at the age of 70. Bill usually had more than one job and had also worked at Portland Meadows. He has been a boxing coach for 50 years at the Knott Street Community Center. He recently was placed in the Boxing Hall of Fame. He married Marlene Nelson on February 7, 1991 in Gresham. He and Marlene were the volunteer coordinators for the Union Gospel Mission Lifechange for 6 years. Bill was a member of the Gresham East Hill Foursquare Church. Bill died on January 27, 2008 at Kaiser-Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas at the age of 81. He is survived by his wife, Marlene; children Joan Stone, Debbie Thornburg, Dennis Nelson, and Dan Nelson; sister Shirley Woods; and by six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Service

Private

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