Submitted by: Dan Rich

Ruth M. Thornton

April 10, 1925 - Feb. 13, 1997

South Bend Tribune 2/15/1997

SOUTH BEND - Ruth M. Thornton, 71, of East Donald Street, South Bend, Ind., passed away after an illness at 3:40 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, in Memorial Hospital of South Bend. She was born on April 10, 1925, in Marquette, Mich., and had lived in the South Bend area since 1964, coming from Rapid River, Mich.

As Ruth M. Gustafson, she married Harry W. Thornton on May 2, 1958, in Marquette, Mich., who survives. She is also survived by her mother, Anne Hautio of Marquette; two daughters and their husbands, Joan and David Frame of South Bend, Anne and Ed McCollum of South Bend; a stepdaughter and her husband, Susan and Tony Millican of Florida; one son and his wife, Wayne and Connie Koski of South Bend; a stepson and his wife, Harry and Sandy Thornton of LeRoy, Mich.; 14 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; four sisters, Irene Wiig of Negaunee, Mich., Eleanor Davis and Violet Koepp, both of Marquette, and Doris Gustafson of Pontiac, Mich. Ruth was preceded in death by her stepfather, John Hautio, and by a stepdaughter, Judy Smith.

Friends may call at the Forest G. Hay Funeral Home, 435 S. Ironwood, South Bend, from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Funeral services will be in the Hilltop Lutheran Church at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Rev. Frederick Pfotenhauer, pastor of Hilltop Lutheran Church, will officiate. Burial will be in Southlawn Cemetery, South Bend. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 8730 Commerce Park Place, P.O. Box 68620, Indianapolis, IN 46268-0620, for cancer research.