Remembering Matthew "Spanky" Thornton

Matthew Thornton grew up in Monroe, LA. He graduated from Carver Elementary School and was a member of the Carroll High School graduating class of 1966. He was an honor student who also played football for the mighty Carroll Bulldogs. Thornton was a standout on the defensive line, where he starred as a defensive stopper. He was a renowned pastor for 45 years at New Direction Baptist Church in Seattle, WA. He was the National Baptist Association president for a number of years. Thornton went home to be with the Lord Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Nell, and four children. Services are set in Seattle, WA, for Saturday, April 29, 2023, with visitation on Friday, April 28, 2023. According to a close family member, the family is planning to bring their loved one back to Monroe, LA, for a local service that will be announced from the funeral home.

Farther Along emptied and tried, we're oft made to wonder. Why it should be thus all the day long; While there are others living about us, never molested, though in the wrong. Farther along, we'll know more about it. Farther along, we'll understand why; cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine. We'll understand it all by and by. Sometimes I wonder why I must suffer, Go in the rain, the cold, and the snow, When there are many living in comfort, giving no heed to all I can do. Tempted and tried, how often we question - Why we must suffer year after year, being accused by those of our loved ones, even though we've walked in God's holy fear. Often when death has taken our loved ones, leaving our home so lone and so drear, then do we wonder why others prosper, living so wicked year after year. "Faithful till death," saith our loving Master; short is our time to labor and wait; then will our toiling seem to be nothing, when we shall pass the heavenly gate. Soon we will see our dear, loving Savior, hear the last trumpet sound through the sky; then we will meet those gone on before us, then we shall know and understand why.