John S. Thornton
John Stuart Thornton, born in 1932, was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho, serving from 1990 to 1998. He was consecrated on September 1, 1990.
Ordained deacon and priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming in 1962, he served as Curate of St. Peter's Church in Sheridan. In 1964, he was called to be Rector of Christ Church in Sausalito, California and, in 1969, was called to be Rector of St. Stephen's Church in Belvedere-Tiburon, California. In 1982, he and his wife, Jan, moved to a small farm near Scio, Oregon, from which he served as Vicar of Christ the King on the Santiam in Stanton.
In 1990, he was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho and retired in 1998. While serving as bishop, he founded St. Francis of the Tetons in the Teton Valley of Idaho and Wyoming. In 1997, he and Jan founded the Lillian Vallely School, a day school for children who live on the Fort Hall Reservation in eastern Idaho.
In his retirement, Bishop Thornton has served churches in Arizona, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, and Washington.
References
- Episcopal Clerical Directory 2015
External links
- Idaho Bishop and His Wife Walk Through Diocese to Say Farewell
- Author, “The Backside of God: and Other Sermons” (2016)
- Author, “Good Seed and Zizania: and Other Sermons and Writings” (2016)