GMF extends condolences to the family and friends of Bernard Thorpe, who passed early Tuesday morning, January 20, in Durham, NC, after a period of illness. He was 69 years old.
Thorpe was a member of John Thorpe and Family of Rougemont, NC, a traditional gospel group consisting of his siblings. Perfectly content to harmonize in the background, he was often nudged to the forefront as audiences loved his characteristically dark but not too frequently heard baritone lead.
Thorpe was also a member of the New Hope Person Male Chorus of Timberlake, NC. His love for old school quartet music placed him front and center at the 2011 appreciation musical celebrating Jo Jo Wallace of the Sensational Nightingales for 65 years in music ministry. There, he led the male chorus’s musical tribute with the Gales’ 1955 hit “Somewhere to Lay My Head.” The trot down Memory Lane was one of the evening’s highlights.
In addition to 12 brothers and sisters, Thorpe is survived by his children and a host of relatives.
Viewing & Visitation
Friday, January 23, 2015
7 – 9 PM
Holloway Memorial Funeral Home
2502 NC Hwy 55
Durham, NC 27713
Homegoing Service
Saturday, January 24, 2015
2 PM
New Hope Person Missionary Baptist Church
1261 Tom Oakley Road
Timberlake, NC 27583
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.