- Date Of Birth: October 4, 1916
- Date Of Death: May 1, 2009
- State: Indiana
Viola Estella Thorpe, 92, of Elkhart, died at 1:25 a.m. Friday (May 1, 2009) at Riverside Village Healthcare Center in Elkhart, of natural causes. She was born Oct.. 4, 1916, in Elkhart to Leroy and Pearl (Molebush) Gay. On May 11, 1932, she married Leonard “Dean” Thorpe in Elkhart. He died Aug. 29, 1975.
Mrs. Thorpe is survived by a son, Carlton (ElDonna) Thorpe of Elkhart; three daughters, Madonna Shaw of Osceola, Carolyn (Bill) Freehling of Brentwood and Cathy Eppard of St. Joseph, Mich.; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and two sisters, Helen Gilbert of Elkhart and Beverly Newland of South Bend.
She was preceded in death by a sister, Irene Mc Clammer. Mrs. Thorpe was a homemaker and worked at the general store at Simonton Lake when she was younger. She enjoyed camping with her family, cooking, gardening and making candles.
