John Thursby
- December 14, 2023

The Rev. John Averill Thursby, retired ordained minister holding standing in the Southern New
England Conference of the United Church of Christ, passed away peacefully at ProMedica
Rossmoor, Walnut Creek, California on December 14, 2023, at the age of 77. He was a resident
of Rossmoor Active Senior Community, Walnut Creek, California, for the past 11 years.
He was born in New Haven, Connecticut on August 18, 1946, to The Rev. Irvin G. Thursby and
Mrs. R. Louise Hartman Thursby. His father was pastor of The First United Church of Christ of
Milford, Connecticut from 1943-1977 and John grew up in the parsonage there. He was an
accomplished boy soprano and sang the lead in “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at this church at
the age of 12.
John attended Milford Preparatory School and Milford High School, and also spent a semester
in Oxford, England, while his father was on sabbatical there. He majored in English and
received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, his mother’s alma mater,
planning on becoming a college English professor. But when he was drafted at the time of the
Vietnam War, he became a conscientious objector serving three years alternative service at the
New Jersey Psychiatric Institute. It was during that time that he received his call to become a
pastor. When his alternative service was completed, he enrolled at Yale University Divinity
School and received a Master of Divinity degree in 1974.
John served as a pastor in Connecticut for 38 years before he retired in 2012. His longest
pastorate was at Lyme Congregational Church for 26 years. During the 1980s, he was chair of
the Connecticut Conference Peace and Justice Committee and was active in the nuclear freeze
movement. He also served Wildermere Beach Congregational Church in Milford for 11 years
until his retirement in 2012.
He married the love of his life, Nancy Lapidge Thursby, on June 17, 1995, becoming step father
to Nancy’s children, Amy Faustich Urban (Ian) and Gary William Faustich, and step grandfather
to Abigail Elizabeth Urban and Violet Frae Urban. John and Nancy had a wonderful 28 years of
marriage, living first in Lyme, then Old Lyme, and then Hamden, Connecticut before moving to
Walnut Creek, California in 2012.
John loved fishing, golf, reading, and walking on the beach. He and Nancy happily spent their
vacations in Rhode Island at the beach for many years. He was a kind, peace-loving, soft-
spoken person who was loved by many and will be greatly missed.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Richard Van Buren Thursby II. He is
survived by his step children and step grandchildren, by his niece, Lisa Hartman Thursby Walsh
(James) and their children, Abigail Kate Walsh, James Patrick Walsh (McKenzie), Molly
Elizabeth Walsh, and Megan Julia Walsh, and his nephew, Scott Mitchell Thursby (Alexandra)
and their son, Richard Van Buren Thursby III.
John was an active member of Orinda Community Church at the time of his death and a
member of the Orinda Senior Village Foundation Board. Donations in memory of John can be
sent to Orinda Community Church, The First United Church of Christ, Milford, The National
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministry, or the Yale University Rev. William Sloan
Coffin Scholarship Fund.
A memorial service will be held at Orinda Community Church on April 13 at 11 AM. A second
service will be held at First United Church of Christ, Milford, Connecticut at a later date.
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