Wilbur Thornton

Contributor

For 24 years, Wilbur Thornton gave his time to Three Rivers athletics as the "Voice of the Raiders."

Thornton, who passed away on November 27, 2015, volunteered his time announcing games on the radio, allowing the Booster Club to sell ads and turn an expense into a fundraiser. He took vacation time from his job with the U.S. Postal Service to travel with the team on long road trips, and closed out important wins with his signature phrase, "How sweet it is." After a Saturday night game, he would sign off with, "See you in church in the morning."

Three Rivers won 613 games with Thornton on the mic from 1990-2014. For years after his death, his name remained on the broadcast chair at the Bess Activity Center. Three Rivers men's and women's basketball teams, as well as baseball and softball teams, wore commemorative patches on their home jerseys during their 2014-15 seasons.

Thornton worked for the U.S. Postal Service for more than 50 years, eventually retiring as the Postmaster General in Poplar Bluff in 2009, overseeing 144 Southeast Missouri post offices. He also was an EMT, led marriage and funeral ceremonies as a lay minister, volunteered as a fire fighter, worked for the Poplar Bluff police department as an auxiliary policeman, and served Dunklin County as the Civil Defense Director.

"When you live in a small town, you don't have all that many people that will volunteer their time," Thornton said in a 2006 interview. "You do it because of the pride you have in your community."