Leonard M. Thorp; Ex-Country Club Employee

Longtime Bel-Air Country Club locker room manager Leonard M. Thorp of Newbury Park died Friday in a local hospital following a brief illness. He was 74.

Thorp was born April 3, 1922, in Willesdon, England. He served four years in the British army as a paratrooper.

“He went in in 1943 or 1944, and saw some action there, boy,” said his wife, Patricia. “He was a lucky man, a very lucky man. He came through without a scratch. He ran through bloody minefields, but came out great.”

They were married in 1943 and had one daughter, Norma.

“He used to take her out every Sunday morning, all around London. They’d stop and have coffee. She loved that, she really did. She loved being with her dad,” Patricia Thorp said.

In 1959, they moved to Los Angeles. “We were just getting fed up with London. It was just getting rough. We thought we’d get out and make a new life,” she said.

For the first year after moving to the U.S., Leonard worked in the construction field with his brother, John. In 1960, he went to work at the Bel-Air Country Club.

“He met so many people there. He met Nixon, Dean Martin, John Candy, Andy Williams. All the big stars,” said Thorp’s wife. “And he loved James Garner.”

They moved to Newbury Park in 1972, and Thorp commuted to work until he retired in 1995. Thorp was an avid golfer and, upon retirement, he spent time gardening.

Over the years, the couple made frequent trips to Las Vegas. “He was lucky. I hope he rubs off on me,” his wife said.

In addition to his wife, daughter and brother, Thorp is survived by eight sisters, Elsie Hoskins and Evelyn Halligan, both of Neasdon, England, June Drew of England, Hilda Matthews of Palm Desert, Doris Headford of Anaheim, Iris Lyng of Orlando, Fla., and Jean Thorp; grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Martha Aniscough, in 1991.

No public services are planned. Arrangements are under the direction of Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary, Thousand Oaks.