Richard "Rick" Preston Thornton, Jr.

Richard ‘Rick’ Preston Thornton, Jr., 66, of Fayetteville, N.C., passed away unexpectedly on April 3, 2025. He was born in Rocky Mount, N.C. on January, 14, 1959.

Rick is survived by his wife of 32 years, Cynthia Overaker Thornton; children, Rossi Thornton (Jenna), Caleb Thornton (Megan) and Ashley Thornton; and grandchildren, Kinleigh Thornton, Walker Thornton and Camden Thornton; his sister Lynn Thornton Lilley (Don) and brother-in-law Dean Overaker (Emily); and many beloved nephews, nieces, aunts, cousins, special friends and co-workers.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Richard Preston Thornton Sr. and Mary John Dunn Thornton of Newton Grove, N.C.; Father-in-law Ron Overaker of Hillsborough and nephew Brandon Overaker of Hillsborough.   

Rick was employed as the General Manager of Fayetteville Moving and Storage for the last 14 years.  He is known for his humor, love of life, fishing, sports and a love of music. His greatest joy was his family, especially being papa to his grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home in Fayetteville, N.C. on Monday, April 7 at 2 p.m. The family will receive visitors prior to the service starting at 12:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ‘UNC Hospitals Patient and Family Support Fund (345828)’ https://give.unc.edu/hfdonate?p=SHOR or ‘Get Hooked - Take a Kid Fishing’ https://www.gethookedtakeakidfishing.com/donate/ or a charity of your choice in his memory.

Services provided by Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home, 545 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC  28301

Online condolences may be sent to http://www.jerniganwarren.com

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