Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Alton Thacker, founder of Tiny Tim's Toy Shop, has passed away at 89.
- His shop grew over the three decades of operation, with volunteers building over 1.7 million toy cars for children in 113 countries.
- Thacker is remembered for his generosity and legacy by family and volunteers.
SALT LAKE CITY – The man behind Tiny Tim's Toy Shop in West Jordan, who has built hundreds of thousands of toy cars for children across the world, has passed away. Alton Thacker, 89, is being remembered as an incredible, kind, and generous husband, father, grandfather, and friend.
Inside the Tiny Tim's warehouse, it looks like Santa's Workshop. Dozens of volunteers can be seen turning ordinary pieces of wood into little wooden toy cars.
Each one is hand hand-painted with special unique designs and colors. The cars are then sent to kids across the world through a variety of humanitarian groups. In 1996, Thacker started the project in his garage after visiting third-world countries and seeing the joy in kids' eyes when getting a toy.
"That's how it kind of started; my grandpa was Santa Claus. He grew the beard and wore the red shirts, and we were Santa Claus in Mexico for 15 years," his granddaughter Emilee Johnson told KSL-TV. "It's incredible what he did; he started just a few toys here and there because he wanted to help, and then other people came, well, 'We want to help, and we need toys,' and it just grew."
Twenty-eight years later, they now operate in a huge warehouse, where this year, they will make more than 115,000 toy cars. In the past 28 years, they've made 1.7 million cars, which have been delivered to more than 113 countries. They also do clothing and blankets and hygiene kits. Johnson now runs the Tiny Tim's Foundation for Kids.
"I'm going to miss him every day. Not every grandpa does this, where they have this incredible legacy. From the time I was in high school, this is just what we did. It's how we spent Christmas. It's how we spent our time," Johnson said.
Volunteers and longtime friends of Thacker, Lynn McClure and Wade Bender, both said they've lost a dear friend.
"Alton was a charismatic man, and I'm a better man because I knew and loved Alton Thacker. He had a gift for people and children," McClure said.
"Probably the greatest man I've ever met besides my father-in-law," Bender said. "He was kind, but he was so service-oriented. If you let him, he would just give everything away."
But volunteers said there is only one way to honor Thacker, and that is to get to work and build thousands of more cars.
"It's every grandpa's and grandma's toy factory now, as we make toys every year," Johnson said.
Viewings will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 8539 S. 2200 West in West Jordan on Friday, Nov. 29 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 30 from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m., and funeral services will be held there on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 10 a.m.
