George “Hobo” Thornton, Jr. departed this life on October 3rd, 2015 at his home in Rogersville, AL surrounded by his family. Hobo was born September 27th, 1931 in Moulton,AL.
Visitation will be Wednesday, October 7th, 2015 from 1 – 3 p.m. at Rogersville Funeral Home. Funeral service will follow in the chapel with Terry Herston officiating.
Mr. Thornton was preceded in death by his 12 brothers and sisters; son, Norman Dwight Thornton. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Nadean Thornton; children, Mickey (Tracey) Thornton and Shawn (Laura) Clay; grandchildren, Trent (Crystal) Thornton, Hollie Thornton, Amanda Thornton and Victoria (Brian) Frost; nine great-grandchildren; sisters, Wiladean Mays and Mary Hall; brother, Otho (Pat) Thornton; numerous nieces and nephews.
If you are from Rogersville and of a certain age you may not know George Thornton but everyone knew who you were talking about if you said, “HOBO”. Hobo and Nadean moved to Rogersville in the late 50’s and he has been a big part of the community ever since. Not only did he own Thornton’s Auto Repair for over 40 years, he was also a member of the Masonic Lodge #147 for over 50 years. He was a founding member of the Local of the VFW and member of the Rogersville Volunteer Fire Department. Hobo was the man to call if your vehicle was broke down or if you had a swarm of bees in your yard. He always had time for his friends; from helping build a fence or simply drinking a cup of coffee.
Hobo was loved and admired by both friends and family alike. His children and grandchildren knew that if anything was broke, he could fix it. He was our rock, our shoulder and our reality check whenever we needed it. He was husband, daddy, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather. He was Hobo Thornton, our Hero! We will never be the same without him but because of him, we will carry on and try to live up to his example.
Love you Old Man!
The family would like to express thanks to Hospice of the Shoals who were a blessing to us.
