Kevin D. Thurman

July 19th, 1964 – August 4th, 2020

Kevin Donald Thurman, a lifelong resident of Riverside, a loving husband, a father, a fisherman, a hard worker and a friend to all passed away peacefully at age 56 on August 4th, 2020 surrounded by his beloved family.

If anyone knew Kevin you knew he loved life, his family and wore his heart on his sleeve.

Kevin was spoiled with very good friends and family. Born July 19th, 1964, he loved his childhood and the 8th Street gang. When he was young, you could always find Kevin “Sweaty” Thurman riding dirt bikes his dad brought home from work behind trails he and his brothers made at BFGoodrich in the woods that connected to the backyard of his favorite childhood house on 8th Street. Growing up in a house with 5 older brothers, he had many fond days with them, especially times down the shore with his oldest brother Billy and his late wife Jeannette. As Kevin got older, he would share a love for the NHRA funny cars and dragsters with his brother Mark.

Kevin was born to turn a wrench. He spent many years building and fixing every imaginable motorcycle at Chiaccio Motors where he would work with his late dad Bill and late brothers, Johnny, Ricky, Marky, and his sister-in-law Roxanne. He went on to work for M&N Construction and then found himself working on air conditioners with his late friend Mark Waters and eventually on his own. In his later career, Kevin went on to work for Mark Peditto and Mike Neri at Artistic Pools. Once again, he decided to go off on his own path servicing pools. He has dedicated the last seven years to servicing his 150+ customers’ pools. Even while sick, Kevin still made time to go out and help them with whatever they needed.

He’d meet a pretty girl named Mary Elaine Kittell in the 7th grade. They started dating on February 17th, 1984 and married on March 9th, 1991. Even after 29 years of marriage, Kevin could still say his best friend was his wife Mary Elaine. They were madly in love and always together. On June 18th, 1991 they were blessed with a daughter Janna Marie and on October 6th, 1993 their second daughter Nicole Mary. They’d raise their two children and later in life, two nephews: Johnathan and Anthony. His children and his wife were his whole world. He had special relationships with his nephew Steven Thurman and his daughters’ boyfriends Zack, Jeremy and Tash.

Friends and family were very important to Kevin. He would spend many years fishing with his friends Don Jack, Ed Shinn and Rich Lamb. Some of their favorite spots were the Delaware Bay, Barnegat Light, the Flattop and the Brandywine Shoal. Kevin loved to take his family camping. They would travel to Pennsylvania for the Shinn’s annual ShinnDig. Many fond memories were had in the mountains, especially with Don and Tammy Jack. Another tradition during the summer that Kevin loved to do was bring his family to Cape May and camp at Big Timber Lake for many years. Later on in life, Kevin bought a second house in Dividing Creek, where he would spend time with his best friends Danny Tusing and Tina Pfeffer. He also loved to spend his time there with his late brother Ricky and sister-in-law Roxanne.

An empty house was rare at the Thurman’s because Kevin always welcomed his nieces and nephews with open arms, especially Kelli, Staci, Johnathan and Anthony. And out of all of his children’s friends that came around one in particular, Corrine Adams, was like a 3rd daughter to him. If Kevin wasn’t out on the boat with his friends, camping in the summer time with his family, or spending every minute he could outside, you could find him making friends with any animal he found. He loved every animal and owned all different kinds throughout his life such as dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, hamsters and reptiles to say the least. But most importantly, he adored his dogs Bear, Simon, Nathan, Minnie, Jelly Bean and especially his chihuahua Scooby. Most recently, he found joy in his daughters boyfriends’ dog, Charlie.

He is survived by his wife Mary Elaine Thurman (Kittell) his daughters Janna Marie and Nicole his brother, William Jr., his sister-in-laws: Sharon, Roxanne, Donna, Marcie and Nancy; his brother in-law: Danny, his nieces Jennifer, Melissa, Kelli, Staci, Ashley and Maura and nephews Billy, Steven, Ricky Jr., Jonathan and Anthony and many great nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents William Sr. and Helen and his brothers: Johnny, Ricky, Mark, and Bobby.

Please join us in celebrating 56 great years on Friday 6-8 p.m. and Saturday 8-10 a.m. at Sweeney Funeral Home, Riverside NJ. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10:30 a.m. at Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish, St. Joseph’s Church, Beverly NJ. Interment at St. Peter’s Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Abramson Cancer Center at pennmedicine.org/cancer/giving.