Major James L. Thompson, 98, of Marshall, beloved husband of Barbara Longfellow Thompson (deceased) and father of three sons, passed peacefully at home on Monday, September 23, 2024. James was born June 27, 1926 (or June 26, according to a second birth certificate he possessed), in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Col. Lloyd James Thompson, M.D., Jessie Evans Williams Troxell, and his stepfather, Col. Alexander Richard Troxell, LLM.
He attended Columbia, Missouri, schools and the Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut. In Columbia he lived for a time with Walter Williams (his great uncle) in the President’s house at the University of Missouri, and he also spent a summer in the Kappa Kappa Gamma house (it was closed to sorority members for the summer).
Prior to high school graduation, James was sent to Camp Crowder during WW II and trained for his role in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, predecessor to the INR, CIG, and CIA), and was then deployed with the Army to the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, and Japan. In Japan, he served as a cryptographer at the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur. He remained in Japan for a few years after the end of the war as a civilian, and then returned to Columbia to attend MU.
At Mizzou he was in the first class of the ROTC after WW II and graduated with a psychology degree and a commission in the Air Force. He was stationed in Maine where he met his wife, Barbara, on a blind date; they were smitten and subsequently married.
Their family grew and followed Jim to duty stations in Libya, Michigan, Washington, D.C., West Germany, Arkansas, and Missouri as James served in Intelligence and Strategic Air Command. Toward the end of his Air Force career, James was also deployed to Viet Nam. James got to serve undercover as a member of the Navy Band (he played cymbals) while attending and graduating from the first class of the Defense Intelligence School in D.C. He received the bronze star and was recognized several times with trips to Washington, D.C., for service with the OSS, including a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony at the Capitol and as guest of honor at the DIA.
Jim enjoyed standing during ceremonies for the Army, Navy, and Air Force since he was “affiliated” with all three branches over his military career. He was also proud of overcoming dyslexia and attending numerous universities, including MU, where he was a Phi Kappa Psi, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Maine, the Sorbonne, and the University of Southern California, where he obtained his master’s degree in systems management.
After he left the military, James and his family moved to Marshall, where he initially worked in vocational rehabilitation for the State of Missouri and later founded Covenant House, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to providing Christianity-based service and housing to those with developmental disabilities. The central belief of Covenant House is that every individual has the right to every opportunity to maximize his/her growth and maturity. By the time of his ultimate retirement at age 83, Jim had helped hundreds of people through his work.
He was a longtime member of Covenant Presbyterian Church, and was also a member of Rotary, the VFW (which he joined while in Tokyo), the American Legion, the Military Officers Association of America, the University of Missouri Alumni Association (for which he served as president of the Marshall chapter), the USC Alumni Association, as well as a 3rd Degree Mason.
He was a loving father and role model to his three children, Dr. James L. Thompson, Jr. and his wife Kathy, Greig Evans Thompson and his wife Deborah, and Mark Thompson and his wife Stacey, and a loving grandfather.
Other survivors include his older sister, Nancy Thompson Tipton of Centennial, Colorado, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Nancy was a cryptographer in D.C. during WW II, and seven decades later, after declassification, she and James were finally able to talk about their top-secret assignments during the war. They realized they had both been involved in breaking Japanese military codes but had never discussed it. The oaths they took were very real to them. Due to his security clearances and travel restrictions, he was only able to share his military stories much later in life, but his memory was astounding, and he enjoyed sharing stories about his entire life and his experiences.
The family would like to extend special thanks to all his friends who called on Jim and prayed for him over the last several years of his abundant life.
A visitation will be held at 10 AM and a funeral service at 11 AM Wednesday, October 2, at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Marshall. Burial will be at 1 PM at Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville, Missouri. Friends may sign the online register book at www.campbell-lewis.com
In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial donations to the Covenant Presbyterian Church, 710 E. Yerby St., Marshall, MO 65340; the MU Missouri School of Journalism, Office of Advancement, 103 Neff Hall, Columbia, MO 65211; or Easter Seals Midwest, 918 Bernadette Drive, Columbia, Missouri 65203