Obituary: Marilyn (Mitzi) Orlob Thornton

Marilyn (Mitzi) Orlob Thornton 1933 ~ 2005 Marilyn (Mitzi) Orlob Thornton passed away from cancer in her Belvedere home on June 20, 2005. She was surrounded by her loving children and her sister. Mitzi was born on March 24, 1933 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was one of three daughters to Rudolph Orlob, local business and civic leader, and Gladys Young, granddaughter of pioneer leader Brigham Young. Mitzi graduated from Rowland Hall academy in 1951. She then attended the University of Utah but her artistic and bohemian temperament led her to California where she graduated from Mills College, Oakland in 1955. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1959. In 1959, she married John S. Thornton and moved to Ross, California where he completed his Master of Divinity degree. She had her first child, John Jr., in 1961 and then moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, where her husband served as minister at St. Peter's Episcopal Church and where her daughter Andrea was born in 1962. The family moved to Sausalito, California in 1964 where her husband served at Christ Church, and then moved to Belvedere in 1969 where he served at St. Stephen's Belvedere. Mitzi divorced in 1978 but continued to live in Belvedere, which she loved. She eventually built her own house in Belvedere and was instrumental in its design. Her artistic talents were reflected in the house itself as well as in the paintings and decorations completing it. Mitzi was a member of the board of directors of Industrial Supply Co., Inc., an award-winning Salt Lake City distributor of industrial supplies throughout the Intermountain West. She was a volunteer in many civic organizations over the years, serving as a docent at the Marin Audubon Society, an instructor for Head Start, and a member of the Junior League. She was also a member of the Alta Club, Salt Lake City, the Marin Garden Club and numerous fine arts and performance organizations in the Bay Area. Mitzi is remembered for her generous hospitality, kindness, refinement, environmental awareness, and her love of music, the arts, and architecture. Mitzi is survived by her son John S. Thornton, Jr. of Scottsdale, Arizona; her daughter Andrea Young Rothstein and two grandchildren Paris and Nicholas of Boise, Idaho; and her sister Joyce Evans of Salt Lake City, Utah. A graveside service will be held at the Salt Lake City Cemetery on Saturday, June 25 at 2:00 p.m. with a reception following at the Country Club. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the American Bach Soloists, Rowland Hall academy, the de Young Museum of San Francisco, or the Marin Audubon Society.