Jon A. Thornburg

Jon A. Thornburg, of Bradenton, FL, formerly of Blue Springs, Mo., died Tuesday, May 17, 2005, in Bradenton. Mr. Thornburg served in the U.S. Marine Corps in W.W.II. He became a U.S. Postal In-spector and a certified P.S.E. operator. Always interested in pho-tography, he broadened his artistic experience to in-clude prisma color pencils. He became a well-known Florida artist whose works hang in homes and busi-nesses across the country. Mr. Thornburg won recog-nition for his culinary exper-tise. His caring and kindly personality made him a perfect Santa Claus, a role he filled for numerous or-ganizations throughout his retirement years. A founding member of the Artists Guild of Anna Maria Island, he was also a presi-dent of The Island Garden Club, a member of the Kirby/Stewart American Le-gion Post and Friends of the Island Library. He is survived by Mer-cedes, his wife of 27 years. His children are: Jon (Janet), Jay, Jeff (Debbie), Joe (Lori) Thornburg, Becky (Dave) Lowry, Georgia (Dave) Coats, Gloria Hickman, Gina (Fred) Chavez, Gilda (Gregg) Brinkley, and the late Greta Graham. He is also survived by three sisters, 20 grand-children and two great-grandchildren. The memorial for Jon will be included in the 5:00p.m. Worship Service on Sat., June 11, at Gloria Dei Lu-theran Church in Holmes Beach, Pastor Tamara Wood officiating. The celebration of Jon's life will continue with a gathering and buffet supper in the church's Fel-lowship Hall. Memorials may be con-tributed to the Salvation Army or Lutheran World Re-lief