Mark Andrew Thornton

FUNERAL SERVICE: 10 a.m. Saturday June 2, 2018, at the Jewell – Rittman Family Funeral Home with Minister Calvin Johnson officiating. Military rites will be performed by the Bartholomew County Veterans Honor Guard. VISITATION: 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home and one hour prior to the service SaturdayBURIAL: Flat Rock Baptist Cemetery MEMORIALS: may be made to the funeral home to assist with expenses Mark Andrew Thornton, 52, of Columbus, passed away at 7:22 a.m. on May 28, 2018, at Columbus Regional Hospital. Mark was born May 2, 1966, in South Bend, Indiana, the son of Quinten E. Thornton Jr. and Claudia Marlene Gerlach Thornton. He married Shaena Neuman Robertson on September 30, 2017. Mark graduated from Northside High School in Muncie where he was on the football and wrestling teams. Being a U.S. Army veteran, Mark was very patriotic. While serving his country, he worked on Blackhawk and Apache helicopters. He was employed by NCW for several years as an electrician, and was an assistant coach for the Northside Middle School 8th grade football team. Mark loved his family, especially his wife and his kids. He enjoyed guns, target shooting, travelling, and dancing with his wife. Mark especially enjoyed playing the game “Clash of Kings” on his phone.  Survivors include his wife; his mother, Claudia Marlene Gerlach Green of Hammond, Louisiana; his step-father, Dwight K. Johnson Sr.; sons, Mark Andrew “Drew” Thornton II and Conner Andrew Thornton, both of Columbus; grandchildren, Parker Grace and Cason Tucker Sipes; step-children, Brandon Holt Robertson and Brianna Shay Robertson, both of Columbus; a brother, Dwight K. Johnson Jr. of South Bend; and a sister, Tonya M. (Dymetrest) Barnfield of Ft. Wayne. He was preceded in death by his father; and a daughter, SuLynn Marie Thornton.