How to define a good man’s whole life in a few paragraphs. Impossible. Perhaps the following may just begin to scratch the surface:
Tommy Thompson, 68, died unexpectedly on July 28, 2021 from complications of Covid. He was born Dec 1, 1952 in Newfoundland, Canada, while his father was stationed there, and raised in various places around the globe, as his father was career Air Force.
Tommy enlisted in the Air Force himself, when he was old enough, and served faithfully during the end of the war in Vietnam. He met the love of his life, Kathy, shortly after his discharge from the service and they were married in Albuquerque in 1975.
Tommy was raised in a Christian family and always had a heart for ministry. In 1976 he began attending the Bear Valley School of Biblical Studies in Denver, CO. After graduation, he went into full time ministry, serving as the pulpit minister at the Belen church of Christ in Belen, NM.
Tommy & Kathy began their family during that time. As their family grew to 2 sons & a daughter, Tommy went into the insurance business, running a successful agency for many years.
Every summer, no matter where they lived, he always insisted that the family had season passes to the nearest amusement park or water park, and many fun memories were made there, as the children were growing up. Homeschooling the children was his choice from the time Nathan, his oldest son, was at junior high level, and Tommy thoroughly enjoyed teaching the children math & Bible everyday.
He always plugged into ministry work in each location they lived over the years: in Tucson, he was the deacon of evangelism and had an office in the church building of the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. In El Paso, he would visit the small town of Dell City, TX (just outside El Paso) every other week and do the preaching for their small church. In Santa Cruz, CA he worked insurance while serving as the minister of the San Lorenzo Valley Church of Christ. In Castle Rock, CO he headed up several mission trips to Ghana, West Africa for the Castle Rock Church of Christ, and was an exemplary adult Bible class and teen Bible class teacher for many years. This man was a warrior for the Lord his whole life, never holding back on teaching what the Bible says, no matter how difficult the topic, yet with gentleness and reverence.
In recent years Tommy was a faithful & active member of the Highlands Ranch Church of Christ, in Highlands Ranch, CO and moved his membership to the Highway Church of Christ in Judsonia, AR, after moving to Searcy, AR in June of this year.
Just in the past few years, Tommy did what he’d always wanted to do, he wrote a book. It’s called “Is God Capable?” It was his first, and he’d planned subsequent books in the future. He had already begun work on the next one, titled “Is God Capable of Defining Right & Wrong?”
Tommy loved to play pool (never ever for money), he enjoyed collecting coins, flaming hot Mexican food and classic rock n roll. He enjoyed making clam chowder from scratch, a recipe he created, that was absolutely famous among those who knew him. He had a delightful ‘dry’ sense of humor and was talented at making a quick remark to get people laughing, especially at an awkward moment. He was passionate about serving God, about his family, his church family, and then politics and the well being of our country.
Tommy leaves behind his wife, Kathy, of 47 years; 2 sons: Nathan (and his wife, Sharon) of Belle Fourche, SD; and Michael, of Maryville, TN; and 1 daughter, Stephanie Williams of Sterling Heights, MI. Tommy had 14 grandchildren who will miss him badly, especially remembering the very special way he had of reading them Green Eggs & Ham. We all rejoice that he has heard from the mouth of the King “Well done, good & faithful servant. Enter in to the joy of your Master.” and now abides only in peace and love. He has laid down the heavy burdens of this life, never to pick them up again. We love you deeply and miss you horribly, My Love/Dad/Papa/Tommy. But we will see you again, and on that we can rely.
His Memorial service, a celebration of his life, will be held on Zoom on Saturday, August 21st at 4pm CST. The Zoom address: 577 409 7823 and the code is: hrcoc.
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