Dennis Thornbury

D

danl

Member
I regret to inform you that our long time friend and fellow shooter, Dennis Thornbury, has passed away this evening. Suffering a stroke last week, he slipped into a coma and never regained consciousness.
Services are pending, More info to come.
When I have an address to send your condolences to, I will pass it along.
With much sorrow

Dan Lutke

Feel free to share your stories and love of Dennis in this thread
 
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Very sad

Hearing this sad news just a few minutes ago. Dennis was a great shooter but more importantly a wonderful person. When I moved to California several years ago, he was among the group of people that welcomed me to CA benchrest in Visalia and Sacramento. Always pleasant and always smiling, and more than happy to answer any questions & lend a helping hand. He is obviously known for his former leadership of the NBRSA, and for his longtime role managing the matches at Visalia. I will miss stopping by his reloading bench to see the Corvette pics, his distinctive "me" when announcing the awards post-match, and I'll miss the banter between Dennis and "The Pumpkin." ;) I am glad that I got to shoot with him one last time at the Cactus in March.

Rest in peace Dennis, we will miss you dearly. Thank you for everything you did for CA benchrest and the NBRSA over your many years!
 
I hate to hear that. Dennis was always gracious in taking time to talk with me the few times I called him.
 
I didn't know Dennis personally, but this is sad news.This sport is a revolving door. How do you grow a sport when the member losses are about equal to the gains. Its like pouring water into a bucket with holes in it.

RIP Dennis.



Glenn
 
I’ve known Dennis for 6 weekends a year for 30 yrs.- Benchrest matches. I believe that he has been directing matches at Visalia at least 10 yrs. prior to my benchrest shooting, so that’s 40 years! That is a lot love , dedication and work to put on matches for that period of time. Then dealing with all the problems & minutia and still shooting well.
When leaving a match, upon thanking Dennis, he’d always say “see you next match & tell Judee hi for me”, although he hadn’t seen my wife for 15 yrs.(she quit traveling when she had her stroke) and had only met her a few times.
Rest in peace, Friend
 
Sad, sad news...

A friend to everyone and someone who gave his time graciously to the sport of benchrest. We need more like him in benchrest...calm demeanor and level-headed, to carry the sport forward.

Rest in peace Dennis and strength to the family during this difficult time.

Jim
 
I met Dennis for the first time in 2003 He as easy to talk with and served the NBRSA with dedication for many years. We are certainly diminished with the passing of this shooter/director, and friend to all who have met him. My condolences to family and friends and may he rest in peace. James Mock
 
With his passing, Dennis left a big hole in Benchrest. Many will miss him. RIP. We are truly diminished. He was an exceptional person, a fine example.
 
Very very sad

Dennis put on and ran the matches at Visalia at least 40 yrs.! His gracious dedication to the sport of benchrest as long time President of NBRSA and President of the Visalia Sportsman Asssociation shows his willingness to devote the majority of his personal time and efforts to preserving the sport.
Always friendly, smiling and welcoming to all even when problems arose. Not many of us would be willing to devote our entire life to the sport as he did. I appreciate the time spent with him as a friend and competitor and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
My Prayers for the family. Rest in peace Dennis. ----Bill Summers
 
A good man gone. I had heard he a stroke and i was hoping for his recovery. I talked to him a number of times in the last year, he was always an upbeat guy. He ws THE man at Visalia.

We have lost another one.

Jeff
 
A Terrible Loss to Our Sport....

I had been friends with Dennis for 20 short years... I wish I could have 20 more.

As a Director of the NBRSA, I also had the further privilege of Dennis's stewardship of our organization. He was always so helpful to me on so many occasions.

He was great to work with and was a true ambassador for our sport, which he loved very, very, much.

Let's keep Dennis in all our prayers going forward...

May he rest in peace.

Jack
 
He will be missed

I used to shoot with him in California till my company transferred me to Texas. He was a great guy.
Chris,
 
sorry just heard this, this morning. always enjoyed visiting with Dennis and discussing our two interests shooting and sprint cars. R.I.P. friend.....
 
Dennis Wayne Thornbury

Visalia - Dennis Wayne Thornbury was born August 31, 1944 to Paul and Mary Thornbury in Van Nuys, California. Soon after, the family moved to Visalia, where Dennis lived his entire life. He was a graduate of Mt. Whitney High School and College of the Sequoias. He graduated from 4-C's College in San Francisco with a degree in Computer Science and was employed by Tulare County until his retirement.

Dennis was a long time member of the Visalia Sportsmen's Association, where he served many years as President. For more than 30 years he organized and led championship matches at the Visalia range. His name is inscribed in the National Benchrest Shooters Association [NBRSA] record book, as well as having served a term as NBRSA president. A highly decorated sharpshooter, he has over time held ten world records. Most recently he won at the 2018 Cactus Classic event held in Phoenix, Arizona. A car enthusiast and lover of Corvettes, Dennis was a member of the local Corvette Club.

Dennis passed away in Visalia, California on Sunday, August 12, 2018. A graveside service will be held August 21, 2018 at 11:00 am at Visalia Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are being made by Salser & Dillard Funeral Chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to your local feline rescue organization or animal shelter. Condolences can be made to www.salseranddillard.com
Published in Tulare Advance-Register & Visalia Times-Delta on Aug. 15, 2018
 
Dennis Thoenbury

What a loss. Like Bill, I sat next to him at the Holton nat's in 2015, along with the others from CA. A pure gentleman. Libby and Dennis. Irreplaceable.
 
Yesterday August 21 over 200 people attended the graveside service for Dennis Thornbury. Attending the service were many of the benchrest shooters that shot matches at the Visalia Range. It’s my understanding that Dennis ran the benchrest matches for 40 years. Shortly after I moved to Arizona I had to make a trip to the Visalia range; as it was understood if you wanted to shoot small, Visalia was the place to make it happen. Almost immediately Dennis invited me to stay at his house when I came over; so for many of the Visalia matches, that’s where I stayed.

For the 25 years that I did this there are a ton of memories. Looking back now I wish that I would have kept some sort of journal; not only for the Visalia trips but for all of the benchrest shooting I’ve done. As I think back on my friendship with Dennis something pops into my head that reminds me of why I made so many trips to Visalia. The shooting/competition was fine, however the none shooting time was even better.

Thanks Dennis for all the great memories.


Gary Ocock
 
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