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| Education | I went to William Jewell College for two years on an academic scholarship. I transferred to the University of Kansas where I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Education from the School of Education, English minor and almost an Art History minor.
I took post-graduate classes at Cal State Northridge to complete requirements for teaching certification, and later took classes in Marketing and Computer Graphic Design. |
| Professional Life | My first jobs were in the teaching field: at a low-income day care center in Monterey, CA; First Grade in Meridian, Ms; and secondary Art and English for four school districts in the Los Angeles area as a substitute teacher. I migrated to work for a community newspaper in Thousand Oaks, then cable television in Eugene, OR, then a small Critical Access Hospital in Prineville, OR. For these companies, I was a display advertising representative, later working my way into community relations and marketing. I developed campaigns for Newspapers in Education, Cable in the Classroom, Marketing and PR for the hospital. I loved this work, putting together the hospital's presence in the small town of Prineville, OR. This included women's health days, hospice and senior care, school contests and lots more. No day was the same. I was a one-person department, working with managers, public groups, physicians. I wrote, designed, planned and more. Because the hospital
was small, everyone performed more than one function. I was the Wellness Coordinator and also chaired the Activities Committee. Then the hospital was acquired by a larger health system. I made it through two rounds of lay-offs and pay cuts before being down-sized in April of 2009. |
| Family Life | I have been married twice, and have a wonderful daughter, Meredith Cole, who took me in after I was laid off. My long-time companion was LeRoy A. Dickens, Jr. His heart was true, and I count myself fortunate to have spent over 10 years with him. We hiked and fished the Oregon Cascades together. He knew ancient history as if it had happened yesterday, and held several degrees in the martial arts. For many years, he was a member of the Eugene Human Rights Commission, and a much better cook than I. He passed away in April of 2007.
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| Hobbies & Interests | Today, you could call me a stablehand for my daughter’s horse, Charlie. I also am an "Etsy-preneur". I have two shops on this service: greendogmercantile.etsy.com and lmthorntonarts.etsy.com. The Green Dog shop features altered clothing and other things for people and for dogs, as well as pet portraits. After 18 years of living in Oregon, to re-use, re-design and re-purpose things is a way of life. My Arts shop features drawing, painting, photography and some fiber arts. I volunteer at the New Mexico Art League in Albuquerque, where recently my black-and-white photos have been accepted in the Small Works show and the Black-and-White show. I am a member of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, and have been accepted to participate in the Crested Butte (CO) Plein Air Invitational in their Open Class this summer. |
| Retirement Plans | |
| Contact Information | e-mail: lthornto9@aol.com
Phone: 505-865-2939
Snail Mail: 68 Shawn Ln SW; Los Lunas, NM 87031 |
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| Photos | Photo |
