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Thorne, who became chairman of Millwall Football Club in 1981, passed away on the morning of February 28th.
Under Thorne's chairmanship, The Lions finally escaped the doldrums of Division Three and reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup in 1985. He stepped down in the summer of 1986 and was replaced by Reg Burr who, along with Jeff Burnige and Brian Mitchell, bought the club and built on the foundations Thorne laid in leading the club to the top flight for the first and only time in their history.
Something of a visionary, Thorne was the man behind "The Super Den", an all-seater stadium and sports complex that was due to be built at Cold Blow Lane in the early 1980s. However, the main backers of the deal, ASDA, withdrew from the project and The Lions would eventually move to an all-seater stadium ten years later in 1993.
He went on to enjoy further success as chairman of Slough Town before retiring from the game.