Friday afternoon at Highland Park Presbyterian in Dallas, a packed sanctuary celebrated the life of Joel Thornton, a loving father, husband, son, brother, uncle, friend to countless many, and both friend and top-notch newspaper colleague to scores of us for years.
We celebrated Joel’s intelligence and knowledge, his sense of humor, his love of Nebraska Cornhusker football and Kansas Jayhawk basketball, his editing skill and leadership of the copy desk at The Dallas Morning News, and his unwavering love for his family.
Joel hired me in February 2000 to work for him as a news copy editor at the DMN and was my supervisor for 17 of the 22-plus years I spent at the newspaper. I was honored and humbled that Melissa, his wife and mother of their 3 beautiful children, asked me to join Joel’s younger brother Jay and Joel’s best friend John Banks as speakers at the service. I spoke of Joel’s devotion to his work and the paper during his 31 years there, his soaring standards, and the respect his colleagues had for him. Each of us was able to touch on different aspects of Joel’s life and the qualities that made him the special person he was.
Although we all wish we’d gathered under happier circumstances — and with Joel’s unforgettable laughter in our midst — it was great to see so many old DMN friends and colleagues, some of whom I hadn’t seen in years. It’s a shame these goodbyes/celebrations are often the rare times we see one another nowadays.
In closing my eulogy, I said I’ll always be grateful to Joel for giving me the opportunity to join the staff of one of the top newspapers in the country, adding, “Thanks for everything, Boss.” ❤️
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**SECOND EDIT** Here’s a Dropbox link the church provided to the service video for those who weren’t able to attend. It will expire May 29, but you can download the video anytime before then to watch the service: https://www.dropbox.com/t/iz8HfZKnCw32Hbfs
A Life of Words 