2007.01.17: January 17, 2007: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Obituaries: Times-News: Obituary for Ecuador RPCV Jack Thornborrow
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2007.01.17: January 17, 2007: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Obituaries: Times-News: Obituary for Ecuador RPCV Jack Thornborrow
Obituary for Ecuador RPCV Jack Thornborrow
Thornborrow's life of service may have begun after college when he volunteered in agriculture for the Peace Corps in Ecuador. He met his wife, Darcy, in London, and they traveled to Afghanistan, where they taught English. They married in the Katmandu Valley in Nepal before returning to the United States and moving with his family to Buhl in 1974. In the early 1990s, Thornborrow bridged his agricultural background with local politics and took a seat on the Planning and Zoning Commission. "I think my dad was one of the most fair people you would ever meet," Jenah said. "He would make decisions to his detriment if he knew they were right. In the farm, he made those decisions as well as in the bigger community."
Obituary for Ecuador RPCV Jack Thornborrow
Rural advocate killed in collision
By Cassidy Friedman
Times-News writer
BUHL - The first time Jack Thornborrow died was on a Thursday in March.
The heart of the great champion of small farmers and ranchers suddenly stopped beating in the middle of the Buhl community auction. The city's quick response unit jolted him back to life.
The headline in the Buhl Herald read: "Buhl man thankful to be alive."
Thornborrow died again on Monday, but this time there will be no miraculous happy ending for the friends and family who are mourning the loss of a husband, father and community leader.
Thornborrow, 59, drove his 1998 Dodge pickup through a stop sign less than two miles from his home and was hit by a 1994 Mazda Protege. He was pronounced dead at St. Luke's Magic Valley Regional Medical Center.
He divided his time between farming in Buhl and rallying other farmers in the region to find common ground. At the time of his death, he represented the Idaho Rural Council to other states and from the late 1990s to 2002 served as the council's president.
The council is a nonprofit that represents more than 400 farm families. In the early '90s he served on the Twin Falls County Planning and Zoning Commission.
"Jack was a wonderful leader and a great mediator," said Kristy Webb, who took over as council president in 2002. "He was someone who genuinely cared about people. And he loved farming and he loved farmers and ranchers. And he worked really hard to improve the lot of the small farmers in the region and nationally as well."
The story of Thornborrow the farmer begins early on at his family's ranch in Southern California.
"I think he was always grounded in his farm and his community," said Patrick Sweeney, director of the Western Organization of Resource Councils, a seven-state organization for which Thornborrow was a board member from 2000 to 2005. "And that is where he gained the knowledge and experience about farming, ranching and rural communities."
Thornborrow's life of service may have begun after college when he volunteered in agriculture for the Peace Corps in Ecuador.
He met his wife, Darcy, in London, and they traveled to Afghanistan, where they taught English. They married in the Katmandu Valley in Nepal before returning to the United States and moving with his family to Buhl in 1974.
"He loved Idaho," Webb said. "And he loved its small communities. He loved Buhl."
He and Darcy bought a farm, which grew to nearly 1,000 acres.
Their son, Seth, was born in 1977 and Jenah was born in 1980.
In the early 1990s, Thornborrow bridged his agricultural background with local politics and took a seat on the Planning and Zoning Commission.
"I think my dad was one of the most fair people you would ever meet," Jenah said. "He would make decisions to his detriment if he knew they were right. In the farm, he made those decisions as well as in the bigger community."
His vote reflected his principles more than his private interests, said John O'Connor, president of the Buhl Chamber of Commerce and family friend.
"I think Jack was a shining example of rural community leadership," Sweeney said. "He had great care and concern for family farming and ranching and he coupled that with a passion for protecting the environment."
While Thornborrow's death remains somewhat of a mystery, the views he held in life were never kept secret.
"There is no pretense to Jack Thornborrow," said Jim Barker of Buhl. "What you saw was what you got."
Cassidy Friedman is a staff writer for the Times-News. He can be reached at (208)735-3241 or by e-mail at cfriedman@magicvalley.com.
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Headlines: January, 2007; Peace Corps Ecuador; Directory of Ecuador RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Ecuador RPCVs; Obituaries
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Story Source: Times-News
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