GREENWOOD
William Arthur Thompson, 73, of Greenwood, went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, April 25, 2017.
He was born Oct. 4, 1943, in Terre Haute.
He was a 1962 graduate of Perry Central High School, in Fayette and a 1974 graduate from Mid-America Nazarene College. He also attended Indiana Business College and IUPUI, both of Indianapolis, and the University of Maryland in Tokyo, Japan.
William served in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1968 and was a Vietnam War veteran. He obtained the rank of Sargent. William was a member of the American Legion Post in Greenwood, the Sons of the American Revolution, The Sons of the Confederacy, and the Sons of the Union. He was a member of the historical Civil War re-enactment group, the 5th Virginia Company D, portraying a chaplain. He also was a member of an Old West re-enactment group, the Great Lakes Mining Company, portraying a distant relative, “Big Bill Thompson” — U.S. Marshall of Durango, Colorado.
William also enjoyed being an artist and a genealogist. William was a member of Grace Pointe Church in New Whiteland. He served in the Celebration Singer’s Choir, the Celebration Players-Drama, and the Easter Pageant Players.
William is survived by his wife, Jayne Ann (Messmer) Thompson, who he married May 25, 1991; his children, Kathy (Frank) Fizer and Sarah Thompson, both of Missouri, Jonathan (Heather) Thompson of Michigan, and Anna (Douglas) Kelley of Indiana; two step-children, Travis (Wendy) Serio of North Carolina and Nic Serio of Indiana; a step-sister, Mary Jett of Indiana; two brothers, Richard (Theresa) Thompson of New Jersey, and Robert W. Thompson Jr., both of Indiana, 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert W. Thompson Sr. and Sadie Marie (Sanderson) Smith; two brothers, Gilbert and David Thompson, and one grandchild.
A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Grace Pointe Church ,330 Whiteland Road, New Whiteland. The family will be hosting a visitation from 9 a.m., until the time of the service at the church. Burial, with full military honors, will follow at the Indian Veterans Memorial Cemetery, in Madison.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like memorial donations to be made, to the food pantry at Grace Point.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Jessen Funeral Home, Whiteland Chapel, 729 U.S. 31 North.
Information: jessenfuneralhome.com.
