Robert Harold Thorn, Sr.

Robert Harold Thorn, Sr., 81, of Greenville, SC, died Tuesday, August 30th, 2022. He was born in Memphis, TN on December 8th, 1940, to Harold and Jennie Lou Thorn. He moved around the southeast while growing up before graduating from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in 1965. After graduation, Bob worked for a few different companies before spending the majority of his career at Burroughs/Unisys, in sales engineering, which brought him through Raleigh in North Carolina and Columbia, Florence and, finally, Greenville in South Carolina.

Bob had a strong competitive spirit that he carried throughout his life as he spent a lot of time around sports as a participant, a coach and a fan. He played basketball in summer leagues with Pistol Pete Maravich in high school. He was a member of his college fraternity basketball team that once played against the inmates of Raleigh’s maximum security prison (ask Robert for these details). After having kids, Bob took that competitive nature to the local church men’s leagues, neighborhood tennis courts and bridge-night card tables. Also, during these years, he loved coaching kids' sports teams (even if his own kids weren’t good enough to be on them). And he loved cheering on his favorite Wolfpack in any sport and he would happily point out the 1983 NCAA National Championship Coca-Cola bottles on his bookshelf to anyone who glanced that way.

Bob also was passionate about learning. He was a voracious reader of any historical topic. If you were to browse his bookcase, you could time travel to nearly any point in human history. Passing this love of history on to his kids or any traveling companions was clearly important if you reviewed any of his itineraries when Bob took a vacation (it worked!). There were places you could go with Bob and it was like being with your own personal tour guide while walking around the site. Later in life, Bob took that same historical curiosity and applied it to learning about his own family lineage. He uncovered many amazing family stories and artifacts, including an ancestor’s IOU from serving in a North Carolina militia in the Revolutionary War from the National Archives, while tracing the Thorn’s first steps on this continent to Thomas Thorn, a 13-year-old boy that traveled alone to Gloucester in the Virginia Colony on August 10, 1635.

Bob always had a passion for the outdoors. He believed in conservation and the balance that comes with being in nature. Later in life, when his own odometer had pushed into his 70s, he found a tribe that shared that enthusiasm: the Thursday Hiking Club. He met that group while taking classes at Furman University. With that troop, he put down many miles in the Blue Ridge Mountains and surrounding trails (and these were significant hikes…not just 1 mile Sunday stroll loops). He loved to talk about their latest route and the ceremonial post-hike beer on a restaurant porch whenever given the chance. He shared many new friendships and meaningful bonds with the other hikers through these adventures.

He is survived by his wife, Joan McKendrick, and three children, Courtenay Wallace (Rob), Robert Thorn Jr. (Paige), and Chris Thorn (Kristin). He had five grandchildren, Selina, Eliza, McKay, Casey, and Aaron. He was predeceased by his wife and Chris’s mother Jane.

The family invites guests to join them at a reception 5-7pm Friday, September 9th at Mackey Funerals and Cremations at Century Drive, 311 Century Drive, Greenville, SC.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Bob’s memory may be made to Sierra Club, act.sierraclub.org

A visitation for Robert will be held Friday, September 9, 2022 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Mackey Funerals and Cremations at Century Drive, 311 Century Drive, Greenville, SC 29607.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mackeycenturydrive.com for the Thorn family.