Jonathan Thornsberry laid to rest

After months of enduring combat in Iraq, Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan Thornsberry took leave in July and found God at his hometown church. The Eastern Kentucky native returned to Iraq a few weeks later.

“I watched my husband turn into a different man,” said his wife, Toni Renee Little Thornsberry, at his funeral on Friday.

“He was ready to go if the Lord wanted him home,” she continued during a tearful eulogy at the Little Rosa Old Regular Baptist Church in McDowell. “He was not scared to die for his country.”

Jonathan Thornsberry, 22, died Oct. 25 while conducting combat operation in the Al Anbar province. He was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, in Johnson City, Tenn.

More than 300 mourners from this small community packed the church, which sits along winding highway in the hills of Floyd County, to remember the local boy they nicknamed “Jon-Jon.”.

Dozens of members of the Disabled Veterans of American and other members of the military filed into the chapel before the ceremony to salute Thornsberry. Baskets of flowers were stacked floor to ceiling, surrounding his flag-draped casket.

Just down the street, a sign at McDowell Elementary read “Community Loves You Jon-Jon.”

“He loved the Marines,” Thornsberry's wife told the crowd. “He was a true 'Devil Dog' and he loved to wear that uniform.”

Born and raised in McDowell, Thornsberry met his future wife during his first day as a freshman at McDowell High School. The high school sweethearts married shortly after graduating four years later.

“We loved each other from the moment we laid eyes on each other,” Toni Thornsberry said.

The young couple had a daughter, Haylee Joe Thornsberry.

Toni Thornsberry said her husband “idolized his father and brother and was a true momma's boy.”

She described his passion for sports and hunting, and said she missed his sharp sense of humor as she recalled their last phone conversation.

“I told him I was worried about him, and he said, 'Don't worry about me - I have plenty of women taking care of me,”' she said.

She added: “He's at peace now. There's no worries. There's no pain or war.”

After the funeral, several community members placed flags along the narrow country road leading up to Moore Cemetery, where Thornsberry was buried with full military honors.

From the News Express

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Jonathan B. Thornsberry killed in combat