Memorial to be held Dec. 22 for local William Thorn

Longtime Amityville resident William Peirce Thorn died Nov. 23, 2008 at the age of 88. A memorial will be held Dec. 22, 2008 at Powell Funeral Home.

He was born in Chicago, Illinois on Nov. 30, 1920 to Edward Floyd-Jones Thorn and Marjorie Peirce Thorn, part of the founding families of the area. During World War II he proudly served in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

Most of his life was spent in Amityville. In 1982 he and his wife, Barbara Norton Thorn, moved to Hampstead, North Carolina and lived there for 23 years before returning to Amityville several years ago.

Mr. Thorn was past executive director of Ducks Unlimited, Inc., a national wetlands restoration organization, and retired as president and owner of W. Powell & Sons, Inc., a moving and storage company.

Mr. Thorn leaves behind his children: Katherine Thorn of San Jose, California, Sydney Thorn of Hatfield, Massachusetts, William Peirce Thorn, Jr. of Moscow, Russia and Townsend Chesney Thorn of Amityville; his brother: Edward Floyd-Jones Thorn, Jr. of Houston, Texas; his grandchildren: Katie, Maggie, Julia, Evan, Alix and Margot; his great grandchildren: Colin, Kaz and Anna-Katherine. In addition to his wife of 58 years, he was also predeceased by his grandson Rob; his siblings: Louise Thorn Bonner and Conde R. Thorn and his grandparents: Louise Floyd- Jones Thorn, Conde R. Thorn, General William S. Peirce and Lula Abercrombie Peirce.

After a private cremation, Mr. Thorn's cremains were interred at the family plot at the Floyd-Jones Cemetery in Massapequa. A memorial gathering will be held Monday, Dec. 22, 2008 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Powell Funeral Home, 67 Broadway, Amityville.