Former Hamilton Councilwoman and Civic Leader Eileen P. Thornton passed away suddenly on Friday, June 2, 2017.

Thornton was the current President of the Hamilton Democratic Club, a position she has held multiple times over the years.  She was completing her fourth consecutive year as President.

A graduate of Rider College.  Prior to her retirement from State service, she served as a project specialist in the Commissioners Communications office within the Department of Environmental Protection.

In 2001, Thornton, a Democrat was elected to Council in Hamilton Township; she served as Council President in 2004.

Eileen Thronton with Democratic Leaders.  Chris Benson, Retiree Chapter President; Michele Liebtag, Political and Educational Director; State Assemblyman Wayne P. DeAngelo; Eileen P. Thornton, Retiree Chapter Vice President; State Assemblyman Dan Benson; Senator Greenstein and Emma Coeffer, GOTV.

Political Leaders from throughout all of New Jersey were shocked and saddened by the news of her passing.

“Today, Hamilton lost a great lady,” Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo said, adding Thornton was longtime friend. “Her jovial personality, spunk and generous spirit will be greatly missed but will live on in the lives of all she touched.”

State Sen. Linda Greenstein called Thornton a “wonderful person” and a “great friend.” “She was known for advancing the status of women, no matter their political leanings, both at home and around the world,” the senator said. “Eileen’s passing is a great loss not just for the Democratic party but for everyone involved in civic life.”

Assemblyman Dan Benson who served with Thornton on council added, “I will miss Eileen, her humor, and her constant energy for improving her community and the state.  She believed not just in grassroots, small democratic government, but was a tireless advocate for recruiting and electing more women for public office.”

Eileen Thornton with leaders at Dr. Martin Luther King Committee’s annual Dr. King Tribute at Faith Baptist Church (Kuser Road) in Hamilton

A champion of women’s rights, she was a mentor to many women seeking office. 

“Eileen was A Democrat to the core and helped many elected officials at all levels government”, said Hamilton Township Democratic Committee Chairwoman Barbara Plumeri.

Thornton was an active volunteer and a community activist, she gave her time to many organizations and Boards, such as the Sunshine Foundation, Girl Scouts of Central & Southern NJ, Inter-faith Caregivers of Mercer County, Board of Women in Elected Office, and served as a Board member of the New Jersey Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.

From The Hamiltonian Monthly Community News Publication – A Day in the Life Feature Story July 2015

A Day In the Life of Former Councilwoman Eileen Thornton:  A Woman of the People

By Maria Prato

HAMILTON – The first few weeks of her life, she was confined to a shoebox – a preemie born to two parents, whose love knew no bounds.

It was the first and last time former Hamilton Councilwoman Eileen Thornton would be hidden away from the world.

In fact, much of her story is set on the center stage of government.

“I was a medical challenge to my poor parents and the doctors,” Thornton said.  “I was certainly fortunate that I made it, and my parents would say, ‘You need to give back and stay active in the community.’”

The native Hamiltonian and Cathedral High School graduate grew up in an era when the township was quaint and strangers were few and far between.

“There wasn’t the traffic, and it wasn’t as hectic,” Thornton recalls.  “It was just a nice-feeling community.”

She’s also witnessed an evolution in the family unit, which some say buckled under the modern-day economic realities that often require households with two working parents.

“There’s just not a lot of time to volunteer these days,” Thornton said.

Her memories traipse back to the ‘50s, a time when her mother was a stationary figure with Our Lady of Sorrows Parish and her father, a general manager at a local bowling academy complex.

“Sometimes he would organize a fundraiser to benefit a child tragedy or a disabled child and he encouraged youth to bowl and gave them the opportunity,” she said.  “(Volunteering) was certainly a family tradition.”

While Thornton’s early aspirations were to become a teacher or a nurse, just months before entering a then-Rider College, those prospects suddenly changed.

“I think that kind of waned my senior year in high school,” she said.  “I went to an interview and decided to major in journalism.”

The ink had barely dried on her undergraduate diploma when Thornton clinched her first job with the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce in 1966.

“They weren’t giving women the opportunities that they do today; but there I was, a (public relations) assistant,” she said.

She stayed on for about two years before taking a position as the assistant to the director at Lenox China in Trenton.

Thornton’s workdays were chalk full of negotiations with advertising reps and bridal magazines, not to mention organizing debut shows for new patterns.

“It was a nice opportunity,” she said.  “But the state government was offering a good pension and health packages.”

In time, Thornton pivoted her career into the Department of Labor and Industry’s office as the public information officer. 

It seemed a natural segue considering some of her long-standing interests.

“I was involved with politics and government since college – through privately knocking on doors for campaigns to stamping and licking envelopes,” Thornton said.

Within a year, she made a lateral move to the Division of Travel and Tourism, where she remained as a project specialist for almost two decades.

As a pivotal member of the office, she helped tourism climb to New Jersey’s second ranking industry and was one of the creative minds behind the slogan, “New Jersey and You: Perfect Together.”

But along came former Gov. Christine Whitman, who privatized the division, sending Thornton to polish off her career in the communications office at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. 

“My tourism background was helpful in promoting ‘adopt-a-beach’ and doing clean-ups,” she said. 

In 2001, Democratic Mayor Glen Gilmore tapped Thornton to run for the Hamilton Township Council.

“Politics and government are the agents for change,” she said.  “I saw Mayor Gilmore as a visionary and proactive and I wanted to be a part of that.”

In one fell swoop, Thornton took on the role as a woman of the people.

“I went to so many get-togethers in back yards, had meetings with people in their living rooms or in their kitchens,” she said.  “I would listen to people’s complaints about issues like traffic…one important thing I did was help the Mayor bring more people in on the advisory boards.”

In 2005, voting demographics went through a major adjustment and it was in with the Republicans and out with the Democrats, including Thornton.

But that hasn’t kept Thornton away from her civic engagements, as she still remains highly active with the Interfaith Caregivers of Greater Mercer County and the Mercer County chapter of the Sunshine Foundation.

“Now that I’m retired, I’m glad to have all of these opportunities,” she said.  “Many of these nonprofits are doing so much for our community and people.”