EJ Thorndike was a resident of Friday Harbor, along with his wife Elizabeth, from the 1980s until three years ago, when Elizabeth died and EJ returned to Monterey, Calif., to be near his family.

EJ and Elizabeth were known for their big red barn, where many community events were held over the years and for EJ’s beloved vintage John Deere tractors and farm equipment that could be seen on their multi-acre property along Cattle Point Road by travelers passing by.

EJ would have been 90 years old the day after Mother’s Day this year.

What a long and adventurous life EJ lived, and most people who knew him would say he was a “larger-than-life” character.

He was born in Salem, Ore. to a young mother who could not keep him, so he was placed in an orphanage until he was adopted at age two by Shirley Thorndike. They moved to Globe, Ariz., living on an Indian reservation where Shirley taught the Indian children and Shirley’s husband was constructing a hospital on the reservation.

At age three, EJ broke his leg while living in Globe and still has the Indian Basket and metal toy dump truck he received as gifts during his recovery. He treasured them as much as he treasured telling us all his wonderfully detailed memories of his life.

At age five, EJ’s mother divorced Thorndike and married his then-to-be stepfather Hugh Kau. They moved back to Oregon where EJ grew up on a farm in the country outside the tiny town of Buena Vista, with a one-room schoolhouse.

After getting up before dawn to tend the horses and other farm life chores, EJ would walk or ride his beloved Shire stallion, Al, several miles to school until he was old enough to hitchhike and catch a ride from a friendly neighbor.

When EJ began junior high school the family moved to Dayton, where they had actual indoor plumbing and electricity, a marvel of modern convenience to a skinny young farm boy growing up in the Great Depression years.

EJ was an only child and his friends on the farm were his horse, Al, his dog, Pal, the three baby goats he raised, Cap, Sarge and Private, and last but not least, his duck, Ishkabibble.

In high school, at age 16, EJ began his career as a successful entrepreneur when he leased and ran a skating rink with the financial backing of a man who was his mentor. When he sold the lease he had more money in the bank than his stepfather did… a fact of which he was very proud, indeed.

It was the beginning of WW II and EJ left Oregon to join the Navy at the end of his senior year of high school. He served on the USS Lexington and became the youngest chief petty officer in the Navy by the time he left to return home at the end of the war three years later.

EJ wanted to go to college in Oregon but his mother Shirley insisted he go out of state so that he wouldn’t bring his drinking buddies home on weekends. She encouraged  him to go to school in the then-small town where she had gone to school: San Jose State, in San Jose, Calif.

With that important turning point in EJ’s life, the rest is history.

He graduated San Jose State, went to law school but didn’t finish because he met, fell in love with and married Kathleen Kay, who talked him out of law school and taught him the real estate and construction business instead.

A perfect choice for EJ, and for the rest of his working life that’s what EJ did. Kathleen and EJ built and sold homes and subdivisions in Los Gatos and Carmel, and later apartment buildings in Monterey and Salinas. Kathleen was the artistic designer/building inspector trouble-shooter, and EJ the contractor on the jobs. He had an instinct for great property and was successful at each project he undertook.

After his first wife Kathleen died in 1966, EJ met and married Elizabeth Rose Kelly and for the next 45 years EJ and Elizabeth were never apart, while EJ built another apartment house in Salinas, a motel in Turlock, and their three homes in Monterey, Arizona and a beautiful multi-acre spread in Friday Harbor Wash.

They loved traveling together all over the world, including a 6-month “Slow Poke” caravan of Vanagons through 26 countries in Europe, the highlight of EJ’s travel days.

Despite both his beloved wives’ objections, EJ became an accomplished pilot and owned a single-engine plane with a fold-up motorcycle aboard that he flew all over the country with Elizabeth by his side. EJ adored all his “toys,” including his plane, their boat, the Big E, and the motor home that took them all over the U.S.

EJ was beloved by so many people who became lifelong friends. He was a mentor, a teacher, a playmate and a great boss to his employees.

And above all, he loved his women: his wives, Kathleen first, and then Elizabeth, who died in 2011, and his daughters Patricia-Lynn Thorndike and Gail Mosk. EJ was also grandfather to Kathleen Barbour and Markus Thorndike, and great grandfather to Zoe, Cole and Reed Barbour.

Following Elizabeth’s death, EJ lived in his home overlooking the airport in Monterey under the faithful daily care of Cathy McLellan, Telma Kostyal and Erika Barragan, with frequent visits and phone calls from his daughters PL Thorndike and Gail Mosk, who reside in Marin County, north of San Francisco.

A gathering of friends and family was held at EL Carmelo Cemetery in Pacific Grove, Calif., on March 12, 2015, and per EJ’s written request there will also be a party honoring EJ to be held in Monterey later this spring.

If you wish to be in contact with EJ’s daughter PL, please email her at plthorndike1@gmail.com.

— Family of EJ Thorndike