"ATLANTA -- Kerry Wendell Thornley, 60, an author and philosopher, died of cardiac arrest on
Saturday, November 28, 1998 at Crawford Long Hospital.
"Mr. Thornley, a resident of Little Five Points, was born on April 17, 1938 in Los Angeles. He was
married to Cara Thornley.
"He published magazines and wrote books including The Idle Warriors and Oswald, both based
on Lee Harvey Oswald. He helped District Attorney Jim Garrison in his investigation of the John
F. Kennedy assassination. Mr. Thornley was author or co-author of two books on philosophy
called Principia Discordia and Zenarchy, and worked at a variety of occupations including being
a doorman.
"Memorial services will be private at the family's request. In lieu of flowers, donations may be
made to the Kerista church.
"He is survived by his son, Kreg Thornley."
-- Obituary in the Georgia Gazette
"It is my sorrowful duty to report the loss of the Discordian Nonprophet sometimes known as
Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst, Jesse Sump, the Grand Caliph of California and Ho Chi Zen, the
author of Zenarchy and The Idle Warriors, co-author of the Principia Discordia, my dear close
personal friend, Kerry Thornley.
"Kerry went into cardiac arrest after an extended illness at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta,
Georgia at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, November 28, 1998. Team efforts to resusitate him
continued until approximately 1:15 a.m. when he was pronounced dead at age 60....."
-- Obituary by Sondra London
"Before Kerry Thornley began calling himself Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst or Ho Chi Zen, the
Decatur resident was an aspiring novelist looking for something to write about.
"He met the subject of his first novel in the spring of 1959, talking radical politics and becoming
close friends with a fellow Marine named Lee Harvey Oswald.
"'The Idle Warriors' - the story of a disillusioned Marine who defects to the Soviet Union -
became the only book about Mr. Oswald written before he was charged with the assassination
of President John F. Kennedy...."
-- Obituary by Joel Groover, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday, November 28, 1998 at Crawford Long Hospital.
"Mr. Thornley, a resident of Little Five Points, was born on April 17, 1938 in Los Angeles. He was
married to Cara Thornley.
"He published magazines and wrote books including The Idle Warriors and Oswald, both based
on Lee Harvey Oswald. He helped District Attorney Jim Garrison in his investigation of the John
F. Kennedy assassination. Mr. Thornley was author or co-author of two books on philosophy
called Principia Discordia and Zenarchy, and worked at a variety of occupations including being
a doorman.
"Memorial services will be private at the family's request. In lieu of flowers, donations may be
made to the Kerista church.
"He is survived by his son, Kreg Thornley."
-- Obituary in the Georgia Gazette
"It is my sorrowful duty to report the loss of the Discordian Nonprophet sometimes known as
Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst, Jesse Sump, the Grand Caliph of California and Ho Chi Zen, the
author of Zenarchy and The Idle Warriors, co-author of the Principia Discordia, my dear close
personal friend, Kerry Thornley.
"Kerry went into cardiac arrest after an extended illness at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta,
Georgia at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, November 28, 1998. Team efforts to resusitate him
continued until approximately 1:15 a.m. when he was pronounced dead at age 60....."
-- Obituary by Sondra London
"Before Kerry Thornley began calling himself Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst or Ho Chi Zen, the
Decatur resident was an aspiring novelist looking for something to write about.
"He met the subject of his first novel in the spring of 1959, talking radical politics and becoming
close friends with a fellow Marine named Lee Harvey Oswald.
"'The Idle Warriors' - the story of a disillusioned Marine who defects to the Soviet Union -
became the only book about Mr. Oswald written before he was charged with the assassination
of President John F. Kennedy...."
-- Obituary by Joel Groover, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
