Carl Emil Thorne

Carl Emil Thorne known to all as Bud Thorne, most recently of Piney Flats, Tennessee, passed away on Sunday, July 31, 2022 with his loving family by his side. He was born in a farmhouse in East Gary, Indiana on April 14, 1933 to the late Ralph Thorne and Laura Catherine (Day) Thorne. Bud graduated from East Gary Edison High School in 1951 where he was active in basketball, football, playing Tuba in the band and acting in school plays. After graduation, Bud entered the US Navy graduating boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Station and serving aboard the USS Wasp (CV -18) during the Korean War. On the Wasp, he made the journey around the world changing from Pollywog to Shellback as they crossed the equator with a key highlight of meeting Chiang Kai-shek when he was on board the Wasp. After leaving the Navy, Bud worked in various roles before attending Barber school. After which, he established a long-time barbershop in Hobart on Route 6. It was during this time that Bud met his lifelong love, Barbara Thomas, in 1958. He proposed to Barbara on her graduation night, and they were married on September 6, 1958. During their early years of marriage, they traveled throughout the country, enjoyed dinner and dancing in Chicago, and settled in Merrillville, Indiana. Later, Bud began a career in banking serving as a Vice-President and Commercial Lending Officer with multiple banks in Northwest and Central Indiana. Bud completed graduate coursework Agricultural Banking at Purdue University and Commercial Lending at University of Wisconsin. Bud secured lending for countless businesses and eventually retired from Bank One Merrillville in 1995. Bud was an avid golfer and enjoyed spending time coaching sports and attending family events. He and Barb hosted family picnics on the 4th of July where the food and stories were remembered for years. His wife, Barbara, was active in the Sigma Beta Philanthropic Sorority benefitting multiple causes in the area and was a dental assistant for 33 years. They liked to move, living in over 19 locations through their years together. Bud will be remembered as a loving brother, husband, father and grandfather. Bud is survived by his loving wife of 63 years Barbara (Thomas), sister Clara Mae and brother-in-law Donald Wright, sister-in-law Shirley Thorne (Pittman), brother-in-law Frank Thomas and wife Pam (Thompson); son Jason and his wife Kay (Handrick) of Johnson City, TN, daughter Susan and her husband Paul King of Kailua, Hawaii, daughter Catherine and her husband Brent Hohn of Sherman Oaks, CA; grandchildren Jason ‘Connor’ Thorne, Anneliese Thorne, Sophie Thorne, Cassady King, Kennedy King, and Jack Hohn. Bud is preceded in death by his parents Ralph Edward Thorne (1993) and Laura Catherine Thorne (Day) (1985), brother Ralph Eldon Thorne (2003) and his wife Caroline ‘Carrie’ (Takacs) (2011), brother Allen Richard ‘Dick’ Thorne (1982), and granddaughter Saylor Marie King (1999). A visitation will be held on Monday, August 8, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. until time of service at 12:00 p.m. at Burns Funeral Home & Crematory, 10101 Broadway, Crown Point, IN. Pastor John Starr officiating. Interment at Calumet Park Cemetery, Merrillville, IN. www.burnsfuneral.com

Carl Emil Thorne

April 14, 1933 - July 31, 2022