Robert B. Thorn

Robert B. "Bob" Thorn, 92, of Topeka, passed away on Sunday, March 17, 2019. He was born June 7, 1926 in Topeka, Kansas, the son of Ernest Burnell Thorn and Clair Buek Thorn.

Bob joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in September 1943 and was called to active duty following his graduation from Topeka High School in 1944. He received an honorable discharge late in the fall of 1945 and enrolled at Kansas State College in January 1946. He graduated in January 1950 with a BS in Civil Engineering. He was active at Kansas State and received five honorary keys including the Blue Key.

Bob began employment with Finney & Turnipseed, Consulting Engineers in January 1950, became a partner in 1969 with John Frazier, a sole proprietor in 1983 and entered into a partnership with Craig Mattox in 1995. He withdrew from the partnership in 2009 and retired in 2010 after 60 active years with Finney and Turnipseed. During his time with F&T they designed 17 bridges over the Kansas River including the longest steel bridge in the state at 5,823 feet total length. They also inspected the construction on eight of those bridges.

Bob was active at Kansas State during his career and received many honors. He was recognized with a Distinguished Services Award in Engineering and addressed the commencement exercise that day. He was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Fame in 1998 and served on the Advisory Council to the College of Engineering, the Advisory Council to the Department of Civil Engineering and was the Contact person to the Student Chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for over 50 years. The Student Activities Room in Fiedler Hall carries his name as well as the Robert B. Thorn Lecture Series in the Department of Civil Engineering.

Bob was active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and served as President of the Kansas Section, National District Director covering 7 states and as Vice President covering 13 Midwestern states, Central Canada and Mexico. He was awarded honorary membership in 2003, the highest awarded by ASCE. He was the 522nd person to receive the award in 150 + years if ASCE. He was invited to speak at 30 + Universities to the Civil Engineering Students as well as several state sections.

Bob was involved at the Shawnee County Health Agency, formally the Topeka Shawnee County Health Agency, since 1976 and chaired the Governing Board of the Federally Qualified Health Center many years. He received the Outstanding Citizen Achievement Award from the Shawnee County Medical Society in 2000 and in 2010 the clinic building at 2115 W. 10th was named the Greggory Van Sickle - Robert B. Thorn Building. He was a member of the Downtown Rotary Club, an elder in the Westminster Presbyterian Church and a past President of Shawnee Country Club; where he achieved two Hole in Ones.

Bob married Bernita Velma Stoecker on September 3, 1950 in the Chapel at Westminster Presbyterian Church. They celebrated 66 years of marriage. Bernita received her RN degree from Kansas University and her Master in Adult and Occupational Education from Kansas State. She preceded him in death on October 27, 2016. They had two children; Richard of Longmont, CO and Morgan (aka Judy) (Leilani) of Topeka, KS, five grandchildren; Olivia, Jordan (Jake), Kipp (Becca), Jaelynn (Juan), Ellen and one great-grandchild; Josiah Thorn.

Memorial services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, March 30, 2019 at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1275 SW Boswell Ave., Topeka, Kansas 66604 or to the Bob and Bernita Thorn Civil Engineering Excellence Fund at Kansas State University c/o the Department of Civil Engineering, 2118 Fiedler Hall, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-5000.

Dove Southeast Chapel, 2843 SE Minnesota Ave. is assisting the family.

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