Dale A. Thornburg

East Lawn Cemetery
4300 Folsom Blvd
Sacramento, Ca, 95819

Obituary

Dale Thornburg
October 10, 1930 – January 23, 2022
Galt, California – Dale A. Thornburg passed peacefully on to Heaven on Jan. 23, 2022. He was surrounded by loved ones in his home in Galt, Ca. He was born at Salinas Valley Hospital to his parents John and Mary Thornburg. Dale was an identical twin to his brother Gale. He used to joke that he was the oldest by 5 minutes. The twins were the youngest of 4 children, the oldest two were Jack and Mary Jean. They originally lived in Spreckels, Ca. before moving to Salinas. Dale joined the USAF when he was 19 y/o. His basic training was at Lackland AF Base in San Antonio, Texas. In August 1952 Dale transferred to Mather AF Base in Sacramento, Ca. At that time Dale met the love of his life Anita Rae Lanthier on a double blind date. His twin Gale just happened to be the other man on the date with Anita’s best friend Beverly. Anita took one look at the twins, shook her head and asked “which one is mine?” Their laughter about that experience can still be felt. July 5th 1953 just a year later Dale and Anita were married. They had 4 children, John, Vickie, Kevin and Gregory. Dale worked at Speckles Sugar and Campbell Soup before he was eventually trained for his career job as a Lineman for Pacific Bell and later he worked inside the buildings of Pac Bell on the PBX wiring. He retired after 33 years. Dale and Anita traveled a lot in their 5th wheel with the Elks Club along with many family and friends. They loved traveling the US seeking out new adventures. They also took trips to Australia and Hawaii. They were married 55 years at which time Anita passed away. 3 years later Dale found love again with Nancy Pearson whom he had met in his retirement community in Galt, Ca. They were married on March 19th, 2011. Nancy brought into their union, 2 married daughters and a grandchild which made for a nice big blended family. Dale is survived by his wife Nancy; adoring children John Thornburg (Marlene); Vickie Splain (Harold); Kevin Thornburg (Linda); Gregory Thornburg (Sherry); Sheri Pearson (Dennis); Krissy Kelly (Chris); plus, many, many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Dale will be laid to rest on Sunday Jan. 30th. Services are private for immediate family only. The service will be live streamed at 11 AM by East Lawn Memorial Park on Folsom Blvd. In lieu of flowers please give a memorial donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation in his name.