Frederick Grant Thorne, Sr.

Born October 1, 1925 in Friendly, Maryland
Departed June 27, 2023 in Melbourne, Florida

Frederick Grant Thorne, Sr. was born on October 1, 1925 and died on June 27, 2023. Fred (or “Freddy” as he was called by his many loved ones) passed away peacefully. He was pre-deceased by his loving wife Roberta Stilwell Thorne and daughter Janice Marie Jones as well as his mother and father and eight siblings (2 sisters and 6 brothers). He was the youngest of nine children.

He is survived by three of his children daughter Julie (Thorne) Straus; sons John Thorne and Frederick (Rick) G. Thorne, Jr. As you can imagine (stemming from his large birth family), there are many nieces and nephews of which Fred was the last remaining uncle.

Fred was born in the small community of Friendly, Maryland, about seven miles outside Washington, D.C. He grew up on his parents’ farm where they raised tobacco and vegetables in addition to meat and poultry for income and sustenance.

He was well-versed in all aspects of farming and for years provided tomato plants that he started from seeds to anybody and everybody that he could get to take them. He was lovingly dubbed the “Tomato King” by family and friends.

He grew up with a strong religious background and attended Providence Methodist Church as a child and an adult. That small church was the center for almost all of the community gatherings and also the site of his wedding to his lifelong partner Roberta. He amazed family and friends with his ability to sing from memory all the verses of hymns and Christmas carols. After moving to Florida he was an active member of First United Methodist Church of Melbourne, Florida and his ashes will be spread alongside his wife – Roberta and daughter – Janice.

Fred graduated from Oxon Hill High School in Maryland. There were only eleven grades at the time, so that made him a relatively young high school graduate. He worked for a short time as a messenger at Fort Washington in southern Maryland. This was the start of an illustrious civil service career. World War II was in progress and Fred (as were many of his family and friends) was very patriotic. Five of his brothers were already serving their country (four in the Army and one in the Army Air Corp) so Fred (with the written permission of his mother) naturally enlisted in the Navy. At seventeen years of age his enlistment was for the “Duration and six months”. He enlisted in 1943 and was honorably discharged in 1946.

Shortly after his discharge, he was married to Roberta. He worked a short stint for the US Post Office in Washington D.C., then Goddard Space Flight Corp on the Vanguard Project. It was the Vanguard Project that precipitated the eventual move to Florida, first for nearly a year TDY in 1957, then returning to Maryland for several years, then returning to Florida from 1961-1962 to work for NASA until retirement in 1972. He was the Launch Complex Manager for Delta Launch Complex 17 when he retired. Even in his later years he could vividly relate his many experiences and factual knowledge concerning his career.

Fred had many skills beyond his Civil Service attributes. He and a couple of his brothers built his first home in Maryland. He became an accomplished planner, block layer, carpenter, electrician, plumber, and virtually anything associated with construction. With the help of his brother-in-law (Wayne Thorne) he even built an in-ground swimming pool at the Maryland home, a very unique thing for that place and time. Many happy times were enjoyed among family and friends there.

After his civil service retirement and being only 47 years old, Fred got his General Contractor’s license and dabbled in business for a while. He never did “make it big” in the construction business but he certainly did a lot of construction. It is unknown the number of family and friends he helped build houses. Many of these were from the ground-up. He could do the form-work, pour and finish concrete, mix mortar, lay blocks, frame walls, roof, shingle, plumb, wire and do just about anything that needed to be done.

Fred was a “perfectionist” in everything he did. Where a lot of people could tolerate a measurement being a little bit off, it was not in his nature to allow it. (The family would welcome comments regarding this attribute and any related stories)

Fred had an enormous influence on so many family members and friends. You can see it in his children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and all those that he shared an association with. Maybe it is heredity!

Fred was also a church official, scoutmaster, 60-year Mason and a veteran of World War II.”

Since the passing of his beloved wife Roberta, as many of you know, Fred had required from beginning at moderate to ending at full-time care. While everyone provided visitation, assistance, ice cream treats, birthday celebration and untold Love for this dear father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great great-grandfather, uncle and his friends during his final years, it cannot be left unsaid the Fred’s grandson Patrick Jones exhibited exceptional strength and fortitude in keeping Fred’s quality of life at its highest. With the Love and assistance of Patrick and Fred’s daughter – Janice before she passed away, Fred was able to continue his attendance at family gatherings, make annual trips to North Carolina where he was able to see family and friends and to truly enjoy life’s gifts and his many accomplishments. Sincere thanks and life-long gratitude to Patrick for his care of Fred!

A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 11:00am at the Melbourne Masonic Lodge #143, 2300 Dairy Road, West Melbourne, 32904 with lunch following the service.

Go Rest High on That Mountain for your Work on Earth is done!

In lieu of flowers please donate to your favorite charity. Some suggestions may include Alzheimer’s Research, Wounded Warriors or St. Jude’s.