Jonathan Garth Obituary

Jonathan Thornton Garth - teacher, explorer, gardener, sailor and woodworking mystic - passed on to his next epic adventure on April 16, 2024. Born in Huntsville, Alabama on March 2, 1945, his family moved to Gainesville, Georgia in 1950. Thornton was a champion high jumper, discus and javelin thrower at Gainesville High School. He joined the army shortly after high school, spending four years in France from 1963-1968. He achieved the rank of E5 Sergeant and was awarded with the Sharp Shooter medal. In 1970, after a year at the University of Georgia, Thornton and his future wife, MaryAnn moved to Ashland, Oregon for the mountain lifestyle and to attend Southern Oregon State College. After graduating, he taught science at the Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education in Fairhope, Alabama. His career led him to Escambia High School in Pensacola, Florida where he taught advanced sciences for 20 years until his retirement in 2007. In 1997, Thornton married the love of his life, Sharon Wright and the two remained married until his death. The couple pursued many common interests such as travel, art, sailing and being with family. Together they built, with their own hands, an A-Frame cabin in Altamont, Tennessee using the wood from trees on his property that Thornton cut at a local saw mill. He continued woodworking until his last day of life. His home in Lillian, Alabama is, in itself, a sprawling piece of structural art. Thornton and Sharon's children, Jonathan and Kelly, became integral parts of his life, participating in his ubiquitous projects whether it was working on his boat, splitting wood, shucking oysters or sitting on his boat sipping cocktails. Thornton's sailing expeditions became legendary. He circumnavigated the Caribbean, sailed the southern coast of Cuba, explored the remote reefs of the Yucatan and took his family along on several of the excursions. Anyone who met Thornton recognized his zest for life. Even as Parkinsons diminished his ability to walk and use his hands effectively, he continued to push ahead with seemingly unstoppable power. He loved deeply and was loved and admired by many. Thornton is preceded in death by his parents, Winston Fearn Garth II and Emily Thornton Garth, his brother and wife, Winston Fearn Garth III and Deborah Sexson Garth, brother-in-law Allen Campbell Brown (Emily) and nephew Winston Fearn Garth IV (Kelly). Thornton is survived by his wife Sharon Wright Garth, his son Jonathan Winston Garth (Jamie), his daughter Kelly Louise McCall (Chris), his grandchildren Peyton Angelo Garth, Harlan Winston Garth, Micah Charles McCall, Kenley Louise McCall, Mila Avery McCall and his siblings Robert Dodsworth Garth (Shirley), Thomas Fearn Garth (Susan), Emily Garth Brown (Allen), John Felder Garth (Rhoda) and Frederick Dandridge Garth (Blair) and many nieces, nephews and cousins. For an extended obituary go to: https://www.wolfefuneralhomes.com Any gifts in his name can be given to the Lillian Fellowship Church. https://lillianfellowship.org/