George Earle Thurston

George E. Thurston, of San Angelo went to be with the Lord on Sunday, December 3, 2017 in San Angelo. George was born October 5, 1955 in Rochester, N.Y. to Richard and Joy Goff Thurston, and grew up in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1976 and served his country honorably for 21 years, retiring at the rank of Master Sergeant. He started his military career as an infantryman in the 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) as a member of the Presidential Honor Guard and Continental Color Guard under Presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan. He then transitioned into the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community with an assignment to the newly formed Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at Ft. Bragg, NC. He spent the rest of his career in the SOF community with assignments to Ft. Drum, NY, Augsburg, West Germany, Ft. Devens, MA, and Ft. Eustis, VA. His combat operations included OPERATION URGENT FURY (Grenada), OPERATION JUST CAUSE (PANAMA), and other missions as assigned. George married the love of his life Susan L. Thurston on December 20, 1997 in Coral Springs, Florida and they shared almost 20 beautiful years together. George was a loving son, brother, husband, father and grandfather who devoted his life to his family and his country. He was a very straight forward kind of man, so you always knew where you stood with him, and his advice was always stellar. He was a member of the San Angelo Gun Club and he volunteered in the VIPS program with the San Angelo Police Department. George was a Master Mason and belonged to Muenster Lodge #831, in Ulm, Germany. In his spare time, he loved fishing, clay shooting and watching the Washington Redskins play football. “HTTR” “Hail to the Redskins!” was his favorite chant. Most of all, he loved spending time with his granddaughter Lily and fishing on Lake Amistad. George’s love for his family and incredible patriotism and love for his country will remain in our hearts forever! He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him! George was preceded in death by his father Richard. He is survived by his wife, Susan L. Thurston, of San Angelo; his sons, Jason George Thurston and his wife Adriana, of San Angelo and Joshua David Thurston, of Silver Spring, MD, his grandchildren, Lily Marie Thurston and Julian Thurston; his mother, Joy Horton, of Sodus, N.Y; his brothers, Randy Thurston and his wife, Patrice, of The Colony, TX and Lee Thurston and his wife Peggy, of Phelps, N.Y. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and a host of very good friends. The Memorial Service for George will be 2:00 P.M., Friday, December 8, 2017 at Goodfellow Air Force Base Chapel with Rev. George Varela officiating. Interment will be 10:15 A.M., Tuesday, December 12, 2017 at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. Anyone wishing to attend George’s memorial service must contact the funeral home for GAFB access instructions. (325-340-1850)