From the Shreveport Times, January 27, 2018, by Margaret "Maggie" Martin:

Community leader and noted photographer Fletcher Thorne-Thomsen died Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, in the Northwest Louisiana War Veterans Home in Bossier City.

He was 95. 

Memorial services are set for Feb. 10 in the Community Center at The Oaks of Louisiana.

Thorne-Thomsen is survived by his wife, the former Barbara Macoubrey, and their four children: Fletcher Thorne-Thomsen Jr., and wife Margaret; Tom Thorne-Thomsen; Ann Berry and husband Mike Berry; and Mark Thorne-Thomsen and wife Yliana Thorne-Thomsen.

When they were first married, the Thorne-Thomsens traveled the world. Each of their four children were born in different places before they moved to Shreveport.

Thorne-Thomsen was born in Gary, Indiana in 1922. 

Friends and acquaintances will remember Thorne-Thomsen for many things. 

Among them speeches about his experiences during World War II and his memories of the Holocaust.

During World War II, he was a sergeant in Gen. George Patton's army and was responsible for leading a group of soldiers to scout and map artillery positions and bombing targets in Germany. He had some interesting assignments. After D-Day, Thorne-Thomsen was sent to Belgium for combat and assisted in the clean-up effort following Battle of the Bulge.

His son, Fletcher Thorne-Thomsen Jr. said his dad didn't speak of his military action until 30 years had passed. Only then, did he recount what he had seen.

"The impetus for the change was that memory of the holocaust had dimmed among many Americans and there were numbers of Holocaust deniers ...and he was active making speeches about his experiences and memories of the Holocaust," said Thorne-Thomsen Jr. (He had seen first-hand atrocities of the Holocaust while going through Germany and Czechoslovakia.)

It was much later, too, that the veteran disclosed he earned two Purple Hearts and three Bronze Battle stars during the war.

After the war, he worked several jobs, but settled here and was employed as superintendent at Procan Division named Fabsteel located in Waskom Texas.

"His was one of the first firms in the Shreveport area to hire African Americans as welders, fitters and managers," said his son.

Thorne-Thomsen was a photographer who sent images he shot as Christmas cards. Through the years, he had several shows, including one at the Norton Art Gallery.

In the 1930s, Thorne-Thomsen earned a Kodak national prize and $1,000 for a high contrast photo of seagulls and clouds, said Thorne-Thompsen Jr.

"He remembered seeing the photograph when he was a soldier in World War II displayed in the window of a photographic store in a small village in Germany," said his son.

He helped found the Red River Revel and Louisiana Life, according to his obituary.

He was a director of The First National Bank of Shreveport and trustee at Centenary College and an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport.

But his greatest passion was working with children, said Thorne-Thomsen Jr. and he was active in Camp Anytown and Shreveport Juvenile Court.

If you would like to honor Thorne-Thomsen, the family suggests donations to Camp Anytown or any of the Holocaust Museums.