J.D. Thorne came to Wilson from his Elm City home to play high school sports under Leon Brogden at Charles L. Coon, helping the old Wilson High School win the state baseball championship in 1943. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Thorne returned to Wilson and was an outstanding baseball and basketball player under M. J. Bird for Atlantic Christian.

Thorne probably would have played football, but coach Bird did not want to risk an injury. Thorne did, however, serve as a manager for the football team.

Thorne, the Athlete of the Year in 1948, completed his studies at A.C. in 1949, moving on to play professional baseball. Thorne, who had an older brother, John, on the A.C. baseball team, was sent to a minor league team in Arizona by the St. Louis Blues Organization (now Baltimore Orioles). Thorne moved around, playing with Roanoke Rapids, Raleigh, and Wilson. He later was a teacher and coach at Mars Hill in Bertie County, Wake Forest and South Edgecombe. He entered the insurance field in 1957 and is still there, working with Crop-Hail Adjusters.

Thorne lived in Cary with his wife, the former Margaret Nunn. They have one son, J. D. Thorne III, and one daughter, Katherine.