Michael Denis DeArmond Thornton, Jr.

Mike, Mick, Mickey. If you knew him in business or friendship or family, he may have a different name than his birth certificate. His parents named him after his father, whose parents used a name from their family tree that none of us know much about. He was born in our nation’s capital and was brought up in Montgomery County, MD. The longest years of his life- age 29 to 66 in Laurel! He was a traveling worker for awhile, one of the original gas station attendants, and he learned bank lending. I met him just after he traded his suit and tie for a tool belt and bandana. I think he always knew how to build, and repair. Not just a job, but a lifestyle. At 36 years old he first became a father. After some nervous hives, he took that role very well. How proud he must have felt when her first word was Da-da.

Back to banking for a few years, while his second baby girl was born. Next, having a son who shared his namesake. These gifts were his best achievement and his greatest joy. He loved to teach them—to use tools, paint, install, repair. His children are living proof of all that knowledge now.

Besides approving loans and carrying sheet rock, Mickey also knew how to cut and arrange flowers and prepare real meals. His fluffy scrambled eggs, potatoes au gratin, roast brisket are unmatched. He was the original mashed potato MASTER. When the mixer broke, he attached the beater to a power drill.

He wanted to help every neighbor who needed him. Anywhere there were people, he wanted to make a friend or five. He was generous to a fault; Miss Purse Strings had to reel him in.

Mickey knew a lot about history and wars. He watched movies and shows repeatedly if they contained family relationships, or dads sacrificing their lives in war, but he couldn’t tell you about it because his voice would crack.