Albert Edward Thorne III

Albert Edward Thorne III of Fallbrook, CA passed away August 10, 2021.

Albert was born in Winchester, Massachusetts, on July 9, 1941.  He was the oldest of twelve children born to Albert E. Thorne Jr. and Mary V. Thorne.  Growing up, Albert worked to help his parents support their large family and in 1961, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.  Albert’s military career spanned over 20 years and included three tours in Vietnam.  He married his wife of 53 years Toshiko while stationed in Okinawa, Japan.  Albert attained the highest enlisted rank of Master Gunnery Sergeant during his honorable service and retired in 1981.

Albert had a deep sense of responsibility.  He set the bar very high for himself and people either naturally followed or knew  they better.  The term, “Lead by Example” fits him to a tee.  He worked for Calavo starting at their packing house in Temecula and eventually rising to VP of Operations.  He travelled all over CA and flew to Mexico and Japan often.  Nobody would ever hear Al say, “I’m tired or I don’t feel like working today”.  Though he had just a high school diploma, he could run circles around most and do math in his head like a human calculator.  Albert attained great success the old fashion way, though hard work, loyalty, dedication, and a relentless pursuit to do things right the first time. 

During his years retired, he never slowed down and needed to find a new reason to get up and go.  He joined a local gym in Fallbrook and quickly started a daily workout plan that began at the crack of dawn.  He never realized he was retired and could actually sleep in.  He met a lot of wonderful people at his gym, a lot of them fellow Marines.

Albert loved his family, especially his grandchildren.  He delighted in spoiling them and enjoyed sharing stories about them.  He was the kindest and most loving husband and father.  He was a very classy man that spoke well of others, he showed respect and appreciation to everyone, even a small task well done was thanked with, “I really appreciate your help”.  He was also a very generous man that enjoyed giving to others.  He had a way to extract the best qualities out of even the most unmotivated people.  Nobody would want to disappoint him.  A true leader in every sense of the word. 

Albert is preceded by his parents Albert and Mary Thorne and his brother John Thorne.

He is survived by his wife Toshiko, his children Thomas Thorne and Katherine Curet, his son-in-law Efrain Curet, his grandchildren Matthew and Gabrielle Curet.  He is survived by his siblings Ronald Thorne, Kenneth Thorne, Phyllis Gullage, William Thorne, Mary Jean Martin, Janice Olson, Barbara Roberts, Richard Thorne, David Thorne, and Cheryl Bittner.  Albert is also survived by 6 nephews, 6 nieces, 8 great-nephews, 13 great-nieces, and 1 great-great-nephew.