Charles Paul Thornton, 83, of Florence, Alabama, passed away at home on Monday, November 11, 2024.
Charles was proud to be born and raised in Lexington, Alabama. If you don’t believe that, you should talk to him more than a few minutes, and he’d conjure up a story from those years or from his youth. Charles spent 40 years as a funeral director in the Shoals area, and before that, he was a milkman for 20 years throughout Lauderdale County and the Shoals area. He loved running his milk route through his old stomping ground and staying close with friends and meeting new ones in those areas where he was raised. Charles loved meeting people, talking and telling stories. He never met a stranger, regardless of where he was. One of his favorite spots to tell stories was the “Liars Bench,” as he liked to call it, in the front foyer of Petersville Church of Christ, where he and some of the men would meet and talk before services. His stories will be missed by many, especially his wife and kids, who have heard them repeatedly but always hung on to every word and laughed as if it were the first time they ever heard it.
Visitation will be Saturday, November 16, 2024 from 6-8 p.m. at Greenview Funeral Home. The funeral service will be Sunday, November 17, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. in Greenview Memorial Chapel with Miles Stutts and Garry Pannell officiating. Burial will follow in Greenview Memorial Park.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Johnny Franklin Thornton and Lily Irene Campbell Thornton; infant daughter, Karlisa Thornton; son, Keith Thornton; brothers, Alton, Jack, and James Thornton.
Survivors include his wife of 40yrs, Deloris Ann Tatum Thornton; daughter, Celisa Akridge (Stephen); sons, Chris Mays (Stacy), and Todd Mays (Kim); grandchildren, Dillon Robertson (Whitney), LeighAnn Hendrix (Lance), Bo Balentine (Callie), Colby Mays (Ashlyn), and Brady Mays (Marylea); great grandchildren, Jace and Jett Hendrix; Louella and Liza Balentine; Maddox Borden; and Charlie Holden; all of Florence.
