John Michael Thornton

John Michael Thornton, age 21, passed away at home in the arms of his loved ones on August 25, 2024 from Sanfilippo Syndrome, also known as MPS IIIA.

 John was born in Livingston, New Jersey on December 9, 2002 and moved to Davis, California in June 2003. John hit the ground running. He attended pre-school in Davis with teacher Deedra Seibert. He then attended Zamora Elementary from kindergarten through 7th grade with the most amazing teacher, Sandelle McGriff, for all 8 years! John had the same 1:1 aide, Alyssa McGriff, for most of this time with an assist from Mosey Mesaros. These were John’s most active, playful years and they and the other aides in this classroom made it exceptional for John. There were so many fun field trips and trips to the park and they always took into consideration how to accommodate him and keep him safe. John loved riding the bus to school and was so excited to see his bus drivers every day. After “graduating” from Zamora, John continued his bus rides to Greengate School in Woodland. Here his caring teachers were Norma Schoen and Katya Griffin and his exceptional 1:1 aides were Jennifer Long and Caitlyn Tsutsui.

 When John was still running, he was a member of the Davis AYSO VIP soccer team with his siblings volunteering as buddies in the program. John was responsible for bringing the CareTrak tracking system to the Davis Police Department, a system still in use today. This experience brought the ever creative Michele Hardy into our lives who was responsible for all of John’s themed cookies, cakes and cupcakes over the years. He rode horses at Horseplay Therapeutic Riding Center in Dixon for many years and loved his trail rides. John was a super fan of all of his siblings’ extracurricular activities: Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, baseball, roller hockey, soccer, swim team, water polo and horse shows. He was especially fond of lacrosse, having traveled and cheered through rain, wind and hail! One of John’s favorite things was music and he was lucky enough to have an amazing music therapist, T Jackson, who would rock out with him. John attended three proms, his first with his girlfriend, Kassi, at Travis Air Force Base. Then at Greengate with three dates! The last was a virtual prom in 2020 with his mom and sister. John was also lucky to have the same physical therapist, Darsie Fisk, from Children’s Therapy Center, for 17 years! She saw him almost weekly and went from running with him through the playground in his earlier years, to exercising with him at Manor Pool in the summers, and then to aqua therapy at Swim America. John loved his Woodbridge neighborhood and taking long bike rides. He enjoyed our Halloween festivities, Easter egg hunts and block parties. John delighted in going to the movies and any zoo. His favorite characters were the minions and SpongeBob, aka Bobby. But, his greatest joy came from spending time with his sister, Caitlin, and his brother, Tom. He was so proud to see his sissy become a nurse and his bro a pilot.

 John was fortunate enough to have traveled to many places such as Hawaii, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Washington, Oregon, San Diego, Tahoe and maybe his favorite, Disneyland. The farthest he traveled was to Ireland to visit family. He was the recipient of an amazing Make-A-Wish trip to Florida where he visited many parks. He loved taking day trips to Folsom Lake. Over the last few years he made several trips to Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur. He loved animals and was a member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Sacramento Zoo.

 John was diagnosed with MPS IIIA just before he turned four. Although the disease progressively damaged his body, he remained our superhero, bringing us joy with his beautiful expressive eyes. John touched everyone he met and we all became kinder, more empathetic and better people from knowing him. Our love for him was immeasurable and we will miss him immensely.

 John is survived by his parents Sheila and Michael, sister Caitlin, brother Tom, his fur sibling Missy, and many loving friends and family. He was predeceased by his grandparents: Jack and Ruth Novak and John and Maureen Thornton. The family is grateful to his nearly lifelong caregiver Mary Gillis, nurses Nick Butterfield and Matt Peinado, his teachers, his 1:1 aides, the numerous classroom aides, Cynthia Ortiz at California Children’s Services and everyone else who provided services, loved and cared for John. We also appreciate everyone who was ever a part of Team John, participating in the annual walk/run/fundraiser to raise support for MPS. And we would like to thank the National MPS Society for their unwavering support over the years and the lifelong friends we made through their community.

 For his short amount of time on this earth, John experienced a lot and he touched many lives. Most people who met John have a funny story to tell. Please come to his service and share your stories on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at St. James Catholic Church, 1275 B Street, Davis. The memorial mass will begin at noon, immediately followed by a celebration of life. Two parking lots will be available - one accessible from W. 14th Street and the other from B Street. Feel free to wear purple in support of MPS awareness or your Team John shirt.

 In lieu of flowers, please consider donating, in John's memory, to the National MPS Society (https://mpssociety.org/), the Make-A-Wish Foundation (https:// wish.org/), the Monterey Bay Aquarium (https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/donate), the Sacramento Zoo (https:// www.saczoo.org/) or have a tree planted in a National Forest (https:// www.alivingtribute.org/).