Karla “Korky” Thornberg, our beloved daughter, sister, and friend, began her journey to the Spirit World on June 15, 2016 after 10 long years of fighting many courageous battles. Each time a new diagnosis was made regarding her health, her response was, “I’m going to beat this thing!” which she did time and time again; she will always be remembered for her strength, spirit, courage, and strong will. Her keen wit and fun sense of humor will be missed by all who knew her.
Karla was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and later moved to Rhododendron, Oregon. She loved the outdoors and growing up in the shadow of Mt. Hood; she always considered herself to be a Mountain Girl. Karla’s first job was on the mountain, where she worked for almost 13 years at two different resorts, grooming the hills. During the off season, she built homes with her Dad. Her love of adventure and hard work drew her to some unusual and exciting occupations over the years. She once spent six months in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia on a king crab processing boat, where the movie “The Outlaw Josie Wales” became a favorite as it was one of only three videos available for entertainment. Karla is proudest of her work with the Estacada Ranger Station, where she was the second woman hired as a fire fighter. Her crew fought fires in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and Oregon.
Karla enjoyed camping, riding her Harley anywhere and everywhere, wood carving, drawing, beading, anything to do with birds, and do it yourself home projects. She enjoyed the challenge of figuring out how to do special projects, such as creating wooden dancer dolls described to her by her grandmother with no pattern or prior knowledge of how to create one. Karla loved listening to music of all types, with Country Western and Tina Turner at the top of her list. She also enjoyed playing her guitar and singing.
Karla is survived by her parents, Fred and Dana Thornberg, brother Guy (Suzan), sisters Teresa Rush (Wayne) and Sydney Schoppert (Lyle), nieces, nephews, her 40-year-old parrot, Reko, her “kid,” and lifelong friend, Leslee Larsen.
A service was held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, 2016, at the Schoppert residence. A celebration of her life will be scheduled at a later date. Karla has a special place in her heart for veterans and never passed a veteran selling paper poppies without purchasing one and proudly displaying it in her truck. In lieu of flowers, please do the same to continue that support and to honor the wonderful life of a beautiful woman that will be so missed. Aho