Leslie E Thornberry

A Renaissance Woman: someone who has acquired a profound and vast amount of knowledge in more than one field, always anxious to apply it to everyday life and share it with everyone she meets. Such a definition surely is befitting the life of Leslie E. Thornberry who was born in El Paso, Texas, but spent the majority of her life in her beloved "City of the Crosses". Leslie passed away peacefully into the hands of her Savior on Wednesday, September 20, 2017. Leslie often stated that her early life in the 1950's was an idyllic time to grow up in Las Cruces. Her life with her friends consisted of singing in the youth choir at St Andrews Episcopal Church, Friday night cruising Main Street (with an inevitable swing around the Shamrock Drive Inn), Junior/Senior Cotillion Dances and later being Las Cruces Sun Princess to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Graduating from Las Cruces High School in 1964, Leslie went on to earn a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts Degree from New Mexico State University. In true Renaissance style, this was just the beginning for Leslie in her life-long quest for knowledge. She was constantly researching, reading and listening to theological tapes. She was always eager to engage her friends on what their thoughts were on a long list of topics. Her life's career was to be an educator, working as a Professor at Dona Ana Community College of NMSU, where she only recently retired after teaching for over twenty-five years. Oh, how Leslie loved her students and shared in their excitement (as she often said) "when the light bulb went on." Close to Leslie's heart was anything involving nature and animals. Big or small, it did not matter. Animals in need always found their protector in Leslie. If she couldn't find them a home, she kept them. Tyler, Yoda, Shelby and Layla, her beloved cats kept her going as she valiantly battled her enemy… cancer. If her cats were OK, then she was OK. A friend once told her that if there was such a thing as reincarnation, he wanted to come back as one of her cats. She immediately replied, "That's fine, but you will have to be neutered first!" Her belief in and love of God was the core of her being, which showed in all her relationships, whether it be with friends, strangers, or one of her four-legged babies. Surviving Leslie is her sister, Melissa E. Thornberry and a litany of friends too long to mention, for if you were a friend of Leslie's, you were a friend for life. She was preceded in death by her parents Wilber Allen (Pete) and Elizabeth (Bettie) Thornberry, pioneer members of the Mesilla Valley. Services will be conducted by the Rev. Dr. Nicholas Funk of St James Episcopal Church at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, September 25, 2017. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to Mesilla Valley Hospice at 299 Montana Avenue, Las Cruces, NM 88004, Best Friends Animal Society, 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT 84741 or St James Episcopal Church, PO Box 2427, Mesilla Park, NM 88047. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Corinthians 15:55 Service Information
Monday, September 25, 2017 10:00am,
St. James Episcopal Church

102 St. James' St.
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88005






Interment Location

Hillcrest Memorial Gardens

5140 W. Picacho Ave.
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88007