Julia Thorne

Julia Stimson Thorne (September 16, 1944 – April 27, 2006) was an American writer. She was the first wife of John Kerry, who was U.S. Senator during their marriage and later Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Secretary of State.

This article is about the deceased ex-wife of US Senator John Kerry. For the name's use on the American TV series "Alias", see Sydney Bristow.

Julia Thorne
Second Lady of Massachusetts
In role
March 6, 1983 – January 2, 1985
GovernorMichael Dukakis
Preceded bySusan Dwight (1975)
Succeeded byJan Cellucci (1991)
Personal details
Born
Julia Stimson Thorne

(1944-09-16)September 16, 1944
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 27, 2006(2006-04-27) (aged 61)
Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.
Cause of deathBladder cancer
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 1970; div. 1988)

Richard Charlesworth
(
m. 1997)
ChildrenAlexandra Kerry
Vanessa Kerry
RelativesDavid Thorne (twin brother)
OccupationWriter

Biography

Thorne was born in New York City on September 16, 1944, the daughter of Alice and Landon K. Thorne Jr.[1] Her maternal great-grandfather was journalist David S. Barry.[2] Thorne spent much of her childhood in Rome where her father worked various jobs.[3][2] She graduated from the Foxcroft School in 1962.[2] She also took some classes at the New York School of Interior Design and at Radcliffe.[1]

Julia Thorne was a direct eleventh generation descendant of John Bowne, a defiant activist in the struggle for religious freedom. William Thorne Sr., third signatory of the Flushing Remonstrance is also an ancestor. Thorne was also a distant cousin of her husband John Kerry through their common ancestor Elizabeth Fones.

Thorne married John Kerry on May 23, 1970, and wore a dress that was over "two centuries old."[2] She and Kerry had two daughters together, Alexandra Forbes Kerry and Vanessa Bradford Kerry.[1] During their marriage, Julia began showing signs of depression and later wrote that she had at one time contemplated suicide.[3] In the 1980s, she created a nonprofit called the Depression Initiative to educate people about depression.[1] Thorne and Kerry were divorced on July 25, 1988 after a six-year separation.[1] She overcame depression by 1990, and by all accounts the two had an amicable relationship.[4] She married Richard J. Charlesworth in 1997 and they moved to Bozeman, Montana.[1] She continued to be supportive of Kerry's run for president in 2004.[5]

Thorne died from cancer on April 27, 2006, in her home in Concord, Massachusetts.[1]

Books

Her book, You Are Not Alone: Words of Experience and Hope for the Journey Through Depression (1993) (with Larry Rothstein) (ISBN 0-06-096977-6) collects accounts of different people who have faced depression.[3] Ann Landers wrote that "this little book could be a lifesaver and the best $10 you will ever spend."[6]

A Change of Heart: Words of Experience and Hope for the Journey Through Divorce (1996) (ISBN 0-06-095105-2)

gollark: Indeed.
gollark: Oh, there was a documentary on stone skimming sport on the BBC a while back, I think.
gollark: Some people appear to find it fun.
gollark: I can generate arbitrarily many variations on basically anything, but if they're not materially different they're not really novel.
gollark: It's the same class of problem.

References
  1. "Julia Thorne, 61; Author Was Former Wife of John Kerry". The Los Angeles Times. April 29, 2006. Retrieved October 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Randolph, Nancy (May 24, 1970). "Julia Stimson Thorne Bride of John Kerry". Daily News. Retrieved October 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Doten, Patti (March 8, 1994). "Defying Depression". The Boston Globe. p. 51. Retrieved October 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. "Defying Depression". The Boston Globe. March 8, 1994. p. 55. Retrieved October 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Madame Ex". Archived from the original on November 23, 2005. Retrieved April 29, 2006.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link); The Washingtonian; July 1996
  5. Beam, Alex (December 3, 2002). "A Slight Problem With the Kerry Profile". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Landers, Ann (December 5, 1993). "New Book Deals With Illness 21 Million Suffer". The Press-Tribune. Retrieved October 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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