William Joseph “Bill” Thompson died on Christmas morning, just eight days before his 91st birthday. His daughter, Ann Dunlap, was at his side.
Bill was born in Manhattan on Jan. 2, 1925, the second of four children. His family moved to Brooklyn when he was a toddler. He grew up during the depression and often spoke of how lucky his family was that his father remained employed throughout those challenging times.
Bill enlisted in the army during World War II when he was 18. He was seriously wounded by shrapnel from a Japanese grenade just a few months after arriving in the South Pacific. He was awarded a Purple Heart and spent more than a year recovering in various hospitals.
He attended Bryant University, near Providence, Rhode Island, on the GI bill after the war. He graduated with a business degree and moved to Houston with a friend because he heard the town was booming with opportunity. It was there that he met his wife, Mary Virginia Oberle, at a Foley’s department store where they both worked. They married in August 1952, moved to Port Arthur, and had seven children together. They remained married until Mary Virginia’s death in August 1995.
Bill graduated from Dallas Institute of Funeral Service shortly after thier marriage and began his carreer in the family business as a funeral director and embalmer and later became general manager of Grammier-Oberle Funeral Home in Port Arthur for 47 years. After the death of his -in-laws, Ted and Florence Oberle, he became a part owner of the business and continued in his role as general manager. As a young man, he was very involved in the Jaycees and March of Dimes. He helped bring celebrities like James Arness, Dennis Weaver and Milburn Stone from the TV series Gunsmoke to town for the annual telethon.
He also was active in numerous other service and charitable organizations over the years, including the Sertoma Club, Knights of Columbus, Veteran’s of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He was a devout and active member of the Catholic churches he belonged to, serving as a lector and parish council member and volunteer for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.
Bill moved to Lago Vista after the family business was sold in 1997. He loved his new home, but most of all he loved his new church, Saint Mary Our Lady of the Lake Catholic, and its wonderful parishioners. In many ways they became a second family and watched out for him as he grew older and more frail.
In addition to his wife, Bill was preceded in death by his parents, John Joseph Thompson and Mary Margaret Lanahan; his sister, Martha; his brother, Walter; and his son-in-law, Scott Harper. He is survived by his sister, Marion; his children, Monica Fortenberry (husband, Doug), Ann Dunlap (husband, Walter), Patrick Thompson (partner, Jimmy), Julia Haizlip (husband, Martin), Matt Thompson (wife, Patty), Jane Harper and Kevin Thompson; his grandchildren, Laurie Garrett, Lisa Fortenberry, Lucy Williams, Amanda Chirafis, Traci Dunlap, Mallory Dunlap, Kathleen Thompson, Alanna Thompson, Jackson Harper, Natalie Harper and Wesley Harper, and six great grandchildren.
A visitation will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Grammier-Oberle Funeral Home in Port Arthur. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 3706 Woodrow Ave. Burial will follow at Greenlawn Memorial Park. An Irish wake will be held at the American Legion Hall in Port Arthur. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, 6100 Lohman Ford Rd., Lago Vista, Tx. 78645, or to a charity of your choice.