Lester Don Thornton, Jr. of Cushing was 46 years old. He did it his way! A good description – he was definitely his own person. Les was born in Lufkin October 22, 1975, to Don and Linda Thornton of Lufkin and basically lived all his life in Lilbert.He is survived by his parents, sister Cami Miller and husband Trey of Joshua; children Brian Wolbert of Longview, Sadie Lindsay of Longview, Austin Thornton of Jacksonville, Amia Thornton of Nacogdoches, Zane Thornton of Cushing, Kiana Thornton of Cushing, Aysah Thornton of Cushing; fiancé Brittany Evans of Cushing, and her children Tavyn & Jordyn Evans of Palestine; niece Dani Ortiz & Tony of Mansfield; nephew Kort Miller of United States Navy stationed in San Diego, CA; favorite aunts Shusha Fesler of Cypress and Debbie Johnson of Forney; cousins Craig and Chad Fesler of Houston; Dallas Thornton of Mercer Island, WA, David Thornton of Beaumont, Edward Thornto of Cushing, Thea Hatley of Mexia, Jeannette Spitler of Bastrop and Julia Kessler of Park City, MT; and a host of other relatives and friends.Les was preceded in death by grandparents Albert Lee and Pauline Thornton, Ellis and Ethel Fesler, brother Luke Thornton, uncles Larry Thornton and Roy Joe Fesler.

Les was very loving, giving, deep thinking and very stubborn. He had a deep concern for people he thought to be treated unfairly. He was known to gather food from food banks and distribute it to ones he knew to be in need. He even gave several pairs of his own shoes to a person who he knew needed them.Les gave his life to Jesus at an early age. He loved all of his children so very much and was extremely proud of them. His delight was watching Zane and Kiana play basketball and yelling "Defense" so loud that he let everyone knew he was there. Les was also a big animal lover. We had to stop and pick up every turtle on the side of the road hoping to keep one for a pet. He called one day to say he had a new pet but did not know what it was. He turned out to be an Emu, which he could not keep in a pen. While Les is missed by his family and friends, he is being welcomed by his family who has gone to heaven before him.