Services in remembrance of William Robert “Billy” Thornton, 90, of Bossier City, will be held on Friday, June 3, 2022, at 11:00 AM at Hill Crest Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, Haughton, LA, with Reverend Sonny De Prang officiating. Visitation will be held at 10:00 AM prior to the service, and graveside interment will follow the service at Hill Crest Memorial Park.
Billy was born on November 16, 1931, in Shreveport, LA to the union of William Clarence Thornton and Lovie Lillian Duck. He passed from this life on May 30, 2022, in Bossier City, LA. Billy was raised in Bossier City where he later dedicated much of his life to the public service of the city. After graduating high school, Billy enlisted in the United States Navy serving as a Fire Control Technician Second Class aboard the USS Rogers based in San Diego, CA. Billy went on to serve during the Korean War in Korea and China and was awarded numerous medals for his valiant service to our county. Law enforcement quickly became Billy’s calling, and he proudly served the Bossier City Police Department in several roles with his proudest being Chief of Police. Following his retirement as Chief, he continued as a Deputy in the Bossier City Marshal’s Office. During his later years, Billy enjoyed the peaceful life living on Cypress Lake, attending church, supporting Airline High School and LSU sports, and spending time with family. Billy was a genuine embodiment of the greatest generation and will be greatly missed by many.
He is preceded in death by: his parents, William and Lovie Thornton; son, Blake Thornton; grandson, Chad Thornton; sister, Martha Rich; and daughter-in-law, Marlene Thornton.
Those left to cherish Billy’s memory are: his children, Leslie Crowell, Eric Thornton, Tony Thornton and wife Dana, and Amy Thornton, as well as daughter-in-law, Jeanette Thornton. He also leaves behind grandchildren, Jeremy Thornton, Amanda Thornton, Natalie Crowell, Jessica Thornton, Cameron Thornton, and Alyssa Thornton; great-grandchildren Cason Stephens and Colton Thornton; and one niece and several nephews.
Pallbearers will be Cameron Thornton, Roy Proctor, and the Bossier City Police Department Honor Guard. Honorary Pallbearers will be members of the Bossier City Marshal’s Office.
The family would like to extend their sincere gratitude to his dear friend and mother of Amy, Helen Thornton, and his caregivers at Old Brownlee Community Care Center.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his honor to First Baptist Church Bossier or St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
