Daryl Lee Thornton, 57, of Beaumont, TX, formerly of Griswold, died Wednesday, March 17, 2010, at Harbor Hospice in Beaumont.

He was born October 4, 1952, in Corning, Iowa to Dale and Clara May (Hopkins) Thornton. He graduated from Griswold High School in 1970 and on June 28, 1971 married Diana Christensen at the Oakland United Methodist Church in Oakland, IA. He later attended Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs and graduated with a degree in Diesel Engineering. While living in this area, he worked in Omaha, worked at Deter Motors in Atlantic and had worked for a time for Thornton Moving and Storage in Griswold. He, Diana and family moved to the Beaumont area in the mid 1980's and most recently he was a diesel mechanic with Ryder Transportation.

Daryl enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping and woodworking.
Survivors include his wife, Diana Thornton of Beaumont; parents, Clara May and Dale Thornton of Griswold, Iowa; sons, Cole Thornton of Essex, Iowa and Kelly Thornton and his wife Sabrina of Beaumont; grandchildren, Naela, Kerrigan, Shawn, Brayden, and Liam; sisters, Nancye Hasiak and her husband Tim, and Sara Keim and her husband Mike all of Omaha, Nebraska; and five nieces and nephews.

Daryl was preceded in death by his grandparents.

Memorial services will be held on Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at 2:00 PM at the Duhn Funeral Home in Griswold, Pastor Leila Blackburn officiating. Burial of cremains will be in the Griswold Cemetery.