BOMBER MEMORIAL

JERRY EDWARD THOMPSON ~ Class of 1965
October 1, 1946 - March 16, 1987





Jerry Thompson, age 40, died on March 16, 1987 in Sunnyside Community Hospital. He was born in Bakersfield, CA on October 1, 1946 and moved to Richland with his family when he was 18 months old.

He attended Lewis and Clark Grade School, Carmichael Junior High School and Richland's Columbia High School with the Class of 1965 and enlisted in the U. S. Army in 1964 serving in Germany and Vietnam. He received the Purple Heart and the Medal of Honor.

Jerry married Diane Ellingsworth while in the service and after a medical discharge returned to Richland. He attended Columbia Basin College and received certification as an auto repair journeyman.

He was manager of a Firestone shop, worked for a Buick dealership, was a self-employed building contractor and later owned and operated a video arcade in Richland. In 1981 he moved to Grandview and later to Outlook, WA where he farmed.

Jerry was president of the Richland J.C.s, president of the Benton County Cancer Society, member of the V.F.W., the D.A.V. and West Side Protestant Church in Richland.

Survivors include his wife, Diane; sons: Corey, Shane and Troy; daughter, Sumner; parents, Mr. and Mrs. James O. Thompson; and brother, James A. Thompson.

Services were held at the Smith Funeral Home in Sunnyside. Burial followed in Lower Valley Memorial Gardens in Sunnyside.

Published in the Tri-City Herald on March 18, 1987.



Bomber Memorial put together by Shirley COLLINGS Haskins ('66).