John Henry Thrower died Sunday, Dec. 5 in Clinton, MD from the effects of lung cancer. He was 68.
He was the second son of Brantley and Mamie Thrower. Born February 21, 1942, John was raised in Harlem and attended school in New York.
He loved tinkering with things, especially television and stereo equipment, and studied electricity in high school. He worked for more than 25 years for Verizon Phone Company before retiring in 1994.
He was married but then divorced from Ozzie Holmes. He was also married to Cassandra Finney for 15 years before she died in 2005. He also was preceded in death by his only brother, Nathaniel, in 2006.
But John was most proud of being a father.
Closest to his heart were his own three children, Tyrone, Vivian and Lamont. He once confided to a loved one that he took custody of his children because he knew what it felt like not to have his father around when he was growing up and he didn’t want his children to ever feel like that.
He also cherished and called his own; the children of his once- longtime companion Hilda Lewis: Helen, Mark, Charles and Tracy. He also readily accepted the responsibilities of being a surrogate father to his late wife’s son and nephew, Keith and Jamal.
He said it almost brought tears to his eyes “when I got to see all the children I helped raised” one beautiful fall afternoon shortly before his death.
John is survived by his children, his loving sisters; Barbara and Denise, daughter-in-law Rose Brown, mother-in-law Louise Jenkins, several brothers- and sisters-in-law, and a host of friends who will all dearly miss him and his fun-loving nature.
The Family will receive friends on Monday, December 13 from 1:00 p.m. until time of funeral service 2:00 p.m at the Briscoe-Tonic Funeral Home Chapel. Interment: Oakwood Cemetery, Richmond, VA.
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