Thornton L. Kinney

01/20/2007

Thornton L. Kinney, 79, of 35 Lander Road died Saturday at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. A friend of cartoonist Johnny Hart, Mr. Kinney was the inspiration for the character "Thor" in Mr. Hart's comic strip "BC." Mr. Hart based many comic-strip characters on friends at General Electric Co., where he worked with Mr. Kinney. Born in Binghamton, N.Y., on Nov. 25, 1927, son of Leland and Iva Thornton Kinney, he was educated in schools there. Mr. Kinney was employed by GE in Pittsfield as a graphic designer, retiring in 1988. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he lived in New York City, where he worked in the advertising business. He returned to Binghamton in the 1950s and worked for GE in Johnson City, N.Y., until moving to Lee in 1966. He was an active member of the Church of the Good Shepherd in South Lee. He was a self-taught watercolor artist and a member of the American Water Color Society and the North Shore Art Society in Gloucester. He enjoyed music, playing the organ and bowling and was a member of the Friday Night Classic League at Lee Lanes. His wife, the former Betty Jane Bulger, whom he married April 20, 1964, died Feb. 19, 1988. He leaves two sons, Mark A. Kinney of Pittsfield and Daniel L. Kinney of Lee; two sisters, Bermetta Brown of Port Crane, N.Y., and Geraldine Evans of Rochester, N.Y.; and two grandchildren. FUNERAL NOTICE -- The funeral for Thornton Kinney, who died Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007, will be Wednesday at 9:15 from KELLY FUNERAL HOME in Lee, followed by services conducted at 10 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in South Lee by the Rev. Stanley Woolley, rector. Burial will follow in Fairmount Cemetery. Visiting hours at the funeral home will be tomorrow from 4 to 7. In lieu of flowers, friends wishing may make donations to the Church of the Good Shepherd, in care of the funeral home, 3 Main St., Lee, MA 01238. He leaves his beloved grandchildren, Matthew and Shaun, and his daughters-in-law, Kathleen and Dawn. He was predeceased by four brothers, Gerald, Charles, Robert and Calvin.

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