KIRKWOOD — For those who knew him, it was impossible to reconcile who Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton was with what he did.

On Thursday, about 700 mourners crowded into Kirkwood United Methodist Church to remember and try to forgive the man who murdered five people at City Hall a week earlier.

Mourners said Thornton's actions defied the man known for his wide smile and trademark "Praise the Lord" greeting.

"The truth is not always easy to make sense of, and we're not God," said Franklin McCallie, the retired principal of Kirkwood High School who spoke during Thornton's funeral. "We're having trouble figuring it out."

McCallie was referring to the one-line note Thornton left behind: "The truth will win out in the end." Media were asked not to attend the service, but McCallie, one of several people to eulogize Thornton, provided a copy of his comments.

In recent years, Thornton had run afoul of City Hall, racking up more than $20,000 in fines for violations, including illegal parking. He also had suffered a series of financial setbacks. Friends said he was clearly in turmoil and angry with city officials, though they never suspected that he would strike back so violently.

On Feb. 7, Thornton shot and killed a police officer outside City Hall. He then burst inside the building and fired at city officials, killing another officer, two council members and the public works director. Police shot and killed Thornton at the scene.

"We recognize what he did was wrong," McCallie said. "He was in agony."

Thornton's family arrived Thursday in a motorcade of limousines. The church's marquee posted the message: "How we forgive determines who we become. Come Holy Spirit."

Joe Cole, 89, a friend of Thornton's, said Thornton was so well liked that several elderly residents in Meacham Park simply can't accept that Thornton would kill anyone.

To many, he was simply known as "Cookie," a nickname he once said his mother gave him because of his sweet nature. He volunteered in the public schools and at Club 44, a local youth organization. He was popular among the kids in his Meacham Park neighborhood.

Cole said he always will remember the "Cookie" Thornton beloved by his community, not Charles Thornton, the man consumed by rage. "Cookie is not dead. Charles is dead."

sdeere@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8116