July 6, 1923 – Aug. 21, 2018
OTTAWA — Cloyce Duane Thornbrugh died Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018 at the Olathe Hospice House. He was 95.
He was born on July 6, 1923 in Quenemo, the son of John and Nina Creviston Thornbrugh. He grew up near Quenemo and lived there and Waverly before moving to Ottawa.
He attended West Tequa School for first to eighth grades and graduated from Williamsburg High School in 1942. He then attended Oklahoma City Electrical School and went on to work in refrigeration sales and engineering. He served with the 65th Armored Infantry Regiment in Central Europe during World War II. After his discharge he worked for the Santa Fe Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad until 1948 when he joined Goodyear Tire and Rubber in Topeka. He worked for 37 years at Goodyear until his retirement in 1985. He then opened Cork’s Tire Shop in Quenemo and operated it until 1993. He was a member of the United Rubber Workers Local No. 307.
He was married to June Heilman on Dec. 11, 1945 in Ottawa. To this union two daughters were born.
He was preceded in death by his wife, June, on September 25, 2013; a great-grandson, Roudie Cowdin; a great-granddaughter, Ruby-Ann Rose Milliken; and his four siblings, Clara Kershner, Floyd Thornbrugh, Lois Clark and Orville Thornbrugh.
He is survived by his two daughters, Sandra (Larry) Milliken of Williamsburg and Ginger (Mike) Cowdin of Quenemo; three grandsons, Steve (Karen) Milliken, Keith (Jenny) Milliken and Scott (Jessica) Cowdin; and three great-grandchildren, Jordan (Shane) Duling, Aly Milliken and Riley Milliken.
Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25, at Feltner Funeral Chapel, Lyndon. Burial with military honors will follow at Pleasant View Cemetery, east of Melvern. Memorial contributions may be made to Williamsburg Meals on Wheels or Olathe Health Charitable Foundation, for hospice, sent in care of Feltner Funeral Home, 818 Topeka Ave., Lyndon, KS 66451. Online condolences for the family may be left at feltnerfuneralhome.com.
