Retiree, wife kicked up their heels - Daily Item

Published March 02, 2010 11:50 pm - Diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago, Richard Thurston, of Sunbury, passed away on Dec. 13, a week before his 76th birthday.

Retiree, wife kicked up their heels

By Deb Brubaker
For The Daily Item

Diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago, Richard Thurston, of Sunbury, passed away on Dec. 13, a week before his 76th birthday.

Over the years, Richard often could be found convening at the end of the yard, enjoying a Piels Light and a cigar and solving the world’s problems with neighbors Pete Sebasovich, Joe Yalch and the late Tom West and Walt Wolfe.

A high school classmate of Richard’s, Shirley Washburn, now of Warminster, introduced him to her best friend, Mary Ann Wiest. The matchmaking was a success, and the couple married on Oct. 4, 1952. They honeymooned at Niagara Falls.

“(He) was a lovely man, one of the nicest people I ever met,” said Shirley, who remained close friends with the couple.

He was a Civil War buff, and his dream was to visit the site of Custer’s last stand. “That was one of our favorite trips,” Mary Ann recalled. “We drove out West, saw a rodeo in Wyoming, and at 66 years old, we went on a white water rafting trip.”

She will always remember her husband as a friendly, outgoing guy. “He had a gentle soul and knew how to treat people right.”

“Dad was a selfless person who always did so much for others and didn’t expect anything in return,” said daughter Deborah Fisher, of Sunbury.

A favorite memory of Deborah’s was of a trip she took with her dad to Gettysburg. “We shared a love for history.”

Son Scott has fond memories of spending time with his dad fishing at Bull’s Eye or hiking the mountain behind their home. “Now I walk in the door expecting to find him sitting in his favorite chair, and he’s not there,” he said.

Richard was proud of his three grandchildren, Ian Marshall, of Sunbury, who served in Afghanistan, Penn State graduate Shaye Currie, now of Reston, Va., and Elizabeth Marshall, of Sunbury, whom he referred to as his nurse because she took such good care of him.

On Sundays, Richard could either be found watching the Philadelphia Eagles or on his back porch listening to polka music. His favorite polka song was “Happy Louie.” He and Mary Ann once were part of the dancing crowd on the WVIA television show “Pennsylvania Polka.”

“At weddings and dances, crowds would cheer them on to the dance floor,” Scott said.

Richard liked going out to eat at Mattuci’s, taking day trips and collecting hats from everywhere he visited, cheering for the Penn State Nittany Lions, Eagles, Phillies and Hershey Bears and watching the History Channel, old John Wayne westerns and World War II movies.

A 1951 Sunbury High School graduate, he was employed for 42 years by the Scullin Oil Co., Sunbury. After his retirement, he worked part-time for the Alexander car dealerships.

In addition to his wife, children and grandchildren, he is survived by a brother, Robert Thurston, of California. He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Edna (Conrad) Thurston, of Sunbury, and a son, Steve Thurston.

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